‘I told my son not to go to the mine’
Father: Currents too strong even for firemen
PUCHONG: The father of the missing teenager whose search led to the death of six firemen had reminded his son not to go to the mining pool.
Mohd Azzam Naim, 46, said he did not know that Mohd Ilham Fahmy had gone to the pool in Taman Putra Perdana here until he was informed of the mishap at about 4.45pm on Wednesday.
“Two months ago, two men were reported to have drowned there.
‘I advised my son not to go there anymore, especially now that it rains frequently.
“I did not think he would come here with his two friends. I was still at work,” he said.
Mohd Azzam said his 17-year-old son had only informed him that his friends were coming to their house.
“He fished at the pool before but this time, he wasn’t fishing because none of them brought a fishing rod,” he told Sinar Harian.
Mohd Azzam said his son’s friends told him that the boy had slipped near the weir and fallen into the water.
He could not be saved because the water currents were too strong at that time.
He said the friends tried to help Mohd IIham Fahmy but could not, so they rushed to inform his oldest son who was nearby.
“The currents were too strong ... even the firemen lost their lives,” he said.
The body of Mohd Ilham Fahmy was found at about 5.45pm yesterday, 800m from where he was seen falling into the pool, the Selangor Fire and Rescue Department deputy operations director Mohd Rizal Buang confirmed.
He added that the body was sent to Serdang Hospital.
On Wednesday, six personnel who were part of the department’s rescue diving unit were dragged away by strong currents at about 9pm when they were searching for the teenager.
They were Mohd Fatah Hashim, 34, Izatul Akma Wan Ibrahim, 32, Mazlan Omarbaki, 25, and Yahya Ali, 24, all from the Port Klang fire station, as well as Adnan Othman, 33, and Muhammad Hifdzul Malik Shaari, 25, from the Shah Alam station.
Selangor Fire and Rescue Department director Azmi Osman had said they managed to retrieve the six personnel and administer cardiopulmonary resuscitation on them but could not save them.