Bodies of last two boys in drowning tragedy found
BUKIT BERUNTUNG: The recovery of the bodies of the last two of eight children who were swept away by currents while fishing in Sungai Selangor, Kampung Timah, brought closure for their loved ones.
The bodies of Muhammad Aiman Kamarul Ariffin, 12, and Muhammad Ikhwan Mohd Ridwan, 10, were found along Sungai Selangor, yesterday.
Muhammad Ikhwan was found about 3km from the Search And Rescue (SAR) operations centre, while Muhammad Aiman was found by fishermen about 8km from the river mouth, beyond the 5km search scope.
Hulu Selangor police chief Supt R. Supramaniam said the bodies were sent to Hospital Kuala Kubu Baru for post-mortem.
The third day of search and rescue operation yesterday saw a surge of personnel involving 115 people up from 80 on Saturday made up of locals, teachers, policemen, fire and rescue personnel, the Malaysia Civil Defence Force and Rela volunteers.
District education officer Zainal Abidin Mohd Yusof, 59, said teachers from several schools in the area put on hold their school holiday plans to help.
He added that the news was devastating to the community which had never seen a tragedy involving so many victims in the area before.
SK Taman Bunga Raya Satu Headmaster Mohd Hasren Damiri, 46, said the loss of the children hit close to home for the teachers, as all the victims were students at the school.
“Two of the kids (Muhammad Aiman and Muhammad Aiman Fitri Md Asmadi) were part of the school football team and would always come to tell me when the school won a match, even if it was just a friendly meet,” he said.
Mohd Hasren said it was hard for the teachers to accept and many have been praying and hoping that the remaining two might be found safe.
“Since this happened right after the exams, it’s almost surreal, their papers are still there to be marked, but the students themselves are gone,” he said.
The bodies were later laid to rest at Tanah Perkuburan Islam Bukit Beruntung, like the five other victims who were found earlier.
The eight children were swept away by strong current while fishing on Friday, but only one of them survived.
Those whose bodies were found earlier were siblings Shahrizat Abdullah, 12, and Shahrizwan, 10; Amirul Hakimi Khairul Amru, nine, Muhammad Iskandar Shah, 12, and Muhammad Aiman, 12.