Tawau, Sabah - His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam has commanded five officers from Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD), as well as parents and family members of the four students who were involved in the Tawau incident, to be immediately flown to Sabah via Royal Brunei flight BI829 that took off at around 9.40pm last night with all expenses borne by the Government of His Majesty.

A press statement issued by the Prime Minister's Office came in the wake of an incident that involved 29 UBD students and their lecturers who were on a field study trip to the area to conduct research on rocks.

At around 4pm yesterday, the students encountered unexpected strong currents in the middle of the river approximately 500 metres from the Sungai Balung bridge and four of the students were swept away, two of whom were later found.

Brunei's Consulate in Sabah, meanwhile, was rushed to the scene following reports of the incident. The remaining 27 members of the group have been relocated to a hotel in Tawau and are being provided with the necessary assistance, while UBD has set up a Operation Room with hotlines 2463064, 2460519, 2460957 and 7178966 for the public to obtain updated information.