JOHOR BARU: A 10-year-old boy has been reported missing after slipping while playing near a drain during rainfall in the vicinity of a flat near Jalan Padi Mahsuri, Bandar Baru Uda, here, yesterday.
Larkin Fire and Rescue Station, operations commander, Senior Fire Officer I Nordatul Badrol Abd Rahman, said the rescue operation began after receiving an emergency call at 3.37pm.
"Upon arrival at the scene, the Operation Search Team (PKO) discovered that the 10-year-old boy had gone missing while playing near the drain during the rain.
"The drain is approximately 3.9 metres deep and about 6.7 metres wide. The water level when the victim went missing was 2.43 metres. A surface search operation was conducted in the surrounding area," he said in a statement.
He added that it was understood that three children had been playing near the drain before one of them slipped and fell in.
"The victim was then swept away by the strong current into the larger drain. This information was confirmed by two of the victim's friends who had been chasing him along the embankment before the PKO arrived at the scene.
"The search began from the location where the victim fell until reaching the Sekudai River, Kampung Usaha Jaya. A second search was conducted with the help of local villagers using a boat to search near the estuary by the trash trap," he said, adding that the operation is ongoing.