KUALA LUMPUR: An outing of a family of five to fish in a river at Jalan KP 4/9 Kota Perdana, Seri Kembangan, near here, ended in tragedy when one of the children was found drowned, while the mother and another child went missing after a water surge hit them.

The Selangor Malaysian Fire and Rescue Department (JBPM) assistant director of operations, Ahmad Mukhlis Mokhtar, said they received a distress call regarding the incident at 4.35 pm.

“We received a report from the survivor, a 40-year-old male saying that his 38-year-old wife and their children, two boys aged nine and 10 and a four-year-old girl were swept away by strong currents,” he said in a statement here, today.

Ahmad Mukhlis said the Water Rescue Team of the Shah Alam Fire and Rescue Station was rushed to the scene, adding that they managed to locate the body of the 10-year-old boy at 7.01 pm, about one kilometre from where they were last seen.

He said members of the public managed to rescue his nine-year-old brother at 5.18 pm, adding that efforts are underway to locate the mother and daughter.

He said initial investigations revealed that the victims were netting fish in the area before being hit by the water surge.