A 21-year-old Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) student who took part in the Komander Kesatria Endurance Challenge (KKEC) died after reportedly suffering breathing difficulties during the Mara Lasak event last Friday.
Maran district police chief Superintendent Wong Kim Wai said preliminary investigations found that the student was initially taken to Jengka Hospital after experiencing breathing difficulties during the event.
His condition later deteriorated following a drop in oxygen levels, prompting doctors to refer him to Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah Hospital (HoSHAS) in Temerloh.
“While receiving treatment in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at HoSHAS, the student died at 2.08pm yesterday. The post-mortem has been completed, with laboratory investigations still pending,” Wong said in a statement on Sunday.
He said four other students — two men and two women — also experienced breathing difficulties at around 9.57pm during the incident and were taken to Jengka Hospital for treatment.
Two more students were subsequently referred to HoSHAS and admitted to the ICU after experiencing low oxygen levels. Both are currently in stable condition.
Meanwhile, six other students who received treatment at Jengka Hospital are also reported to be stable and remain under observation.
Wong said UiTM Jengka hosted the KKEC Duathlon, involving 521 participants from UiTM campuses across Malaysia, except Sarawak.
The programme began on Sept 2 and was scheduled to run until Sept 8, featuring an 8km run, a 20km cycling event and a 10km endurance march.
Police are still investigating the incident and have urged the public not to speculate or spread unverified information, particularly on social media, as this could interfere with the investigation and cause confusion for the affected families and the wider community.
Wong also advised the public to avoid strenuous outdoor activities amid the current hot weather and haze conditions.
UiTM Pahang had earlier expressed its condolences to the family of the deceased student, Fadhlan Fakhry Solana Mohd Fellimal, from UiTM Negeri Sembilan.
As an immediate safety measure, the university also cancelled the outdoor activities scheduled for Sunday as part of KKEC 2026.
