Teen slips and falls into river while trying to wash dirty clothes

KUANTAN: Worried that he would be scolded for dirtying his clothes, a teenager is believed to have drowned when he slipped and fell into Sungai Kuantan near the Sungai Isap Damai housing area while trying to wash the dirt off.
Alif Lukman Hakim Azman, 13, who could not swim, fell into the river at about 5.30pm yesterday in full view of his friends who were swimming there.
His friend Hadi Raiyatudin, 10, said the victim was worried he would be scolded by his father for dirtying his clothes after he fell into a drain while trying to dislodge his fishing hook.
"He (Alif Lukman Hakim) was standing on a tree trunk when he fell. He tried to pull my hand, causing me to fall in too. I almost drowned and let go of his hand before I saw him disappearing (into the water)," Hadi told reporters here today.
He added that he and his friends searched along the river bank for Alif Lukman but could not find him, and they rushed to his home to inform his family.
They returned to the location at about 6.30pm and sought the help of the owner of a nearby banana plantation, Abdul Halim Abd Mutalib, 60, to look for Alif Lukman.
"I saw several children frantically going up and down the riverbank but I did not know someone had drowned. By the time I was told, a long of time had passed," Abdul Halim said.
Meanwhile, Kuantan District Police Chief ACP Abdul Aziz Salleh said the search and rescue operation for the victim, a student of the Maahad Bahasa Arab and al-Quran (MABIQ) here, began at 6.40pm yesterday.
The operation, over a 10km area from where Alif Lukman was last seen, was called off at 10pm when it became too dark but resumed at 7am today.
"The operation involved 126 personnel from the Royal Malaysian Police, the Fire and Rescue Department, the Civil Defence Force, three teams of scuba divers, non-governmental organisations and villagers," he said. — Bernama