HULU SELANGOR: Rescuers are searching for a seven-year-old boy who had fallen into the Desa Alam Ria river in Batang Kali while trying to retrieve his pair of slippers yesterday.
Selangor Fire and Rescue Department director Wan Md Razali Wan Ismail said close to 20 firefighters from the Kuala Kubu Baru station as well as two dogs from the K9 unit were deployed to the scene at 7.30pm.
"The boy was trying to reach for his pair of slippers which were placed at the river bank. He was believed to have slipped and swept away by strong currents.
"The search and rescue operation is on-going where firefighters are using the water surface technique to locate him along 1km stretch of the river.
"We have expanded the search area to 3km away downstream, up to the Batang Kali bridge, from where he was believed to have fallen," he said.
He added that other agencies such as the police, voluntary firemen, the People's Volunteers Corps were also part of the search.
Meanwhile, Hulu Selangor police chief Superintendent Ahmad Faizal Tahrim advised parents and guardians to refrain from leaving children unsupervised to prevent untoward incidents.