Three boys drown in rivers

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The 17-year-old boy’s body was found by search and rescue team at Kampung Umpul in Kota Belud.

KOTA KINABALU: Two boys drowned while playing in a river at Kampung Cenderamata 2, Kampung Likas here yesterday, while another drowned while catching fish in Kota Belud.

The deceased have been identified as Mohd Asraf bin Abdullah, 11, and 10-year-old Datu Aliudin bin Datu Asana.

City police chief ACP Habibi Majinji said both boys were playing in the river when they drowned around 12pm.

“A scuba team from the Fire and Rescue Department manage to locate Aliudin’s body around 3.39pm, while Marine police found Mohd Asraf’s body around 4.40pm,” he said.

The bodies were then taken to Queen Elizabeth Hospital for postmortem, said Habibi, adding that the case has been classified as a sudden death report.

Habibi also reminded parents to keep an eye on their children and stop them from playing in rivers especially during rainy season.

Meanwhile, a statement from the State Fire and Rescue Services Department said that a distress call was received at 12.15pm on the incident.

Nine fire and rescue personnel from the scuba unit were deployed to the location to carry out a search and rescue operation.

The first body was discovered about 10 meters from the initial spot were both boys were reported to have gone missing, while the second body was pulled out from the river about 15 meters away from the initial spot.

The bodies were then handed to the police for further action while the operation ended at 4.57pm.

In KOTA BELUD, a 17-year-old boy drowned while catching fish in a river at Kampung Umpul yesterday.

The victim was identified as Mohd Lokman who was found by search and rescue team several hours after he was reported missing around 11am.

State Fire and Rescue Department public relations officer Superintendent Mohd Affendy Ramin said a distress call was made to the Kota Belud Fire Station after which eight personnel were deployed to the scene.

The victim’s body was found several metres from where he was first reported missing.

The body was handed to the police for further action and taken to the district hospital for a post-mortem.