KANOWIT: A 18-month-old baby boy is feared to have drowned after he slipped into a river near Boniface Ng Germai longhouse yesterday (Feb 25).
The unfortunate incident happened around 5.15 pm when the baby slipped into the river, about 150 metres from the longhouse.
It was reported that the parents were engaged in harvesting work and were unaware of their child’s whereabouts.
Two locals, who were carrying out their daily routines on the riverbank, witnessed the incident and rushed to rescue the baby but to no avail.
An initial search was conducted around the scene before the family contacted the rescue agencies for search assistance.
Firefighters from Kanowit station, along with the police, were dispatched to the scene after receiving a distress call at 6.16 pm.
Upon arrival, the team launched a search and rescue (SAR) operation to locate the missing baby, however, the search was suspended at 7.59 pm due to nightfall.
At the time of writing, the search is ongoing.
