A six-year-old boy reported missing from his home in Kampung Baru, Sungai Sumun was found drowned in a palm oil plantation drain near his house on Tuesday night.
The victim, identified as Muhammad Faith Fatih Abdul Fattah, who was an OKU child, was confirmed dead at the scene, located about 330 metres from his residence.
Perak Fire and Rescue Department operations assistant director Sabarodzi Nor Ahmad said the department received an alert from police regarding the missing child at about 6.24pm.
He said firefighters from the Hutan Melintang Fire and Rescue Station arrived at the scene shortly after to assist in search and rescue (SAR) operations.
Initial checks found that the child’s father realised he was missing after discovering the front door of the house was open and the boy was nowhere to be found.
The father had earlier searched the surrounding area, including nearby palm oil plantations, before lodging a police report.
Search operations involved firefighters, police officers, Civil Defence Force personnel and members of the public, with a K9 unit also deployed to assist in locating the child.
The boy was later found at about 10.08pm by members of the public inside a drain within the plantation area.
Firefighters then retrieved the body before handing it over to police for further action.
The operation, involving 10 firefighters and multiple vehicles, ended fully at 11.11pm after the area was declared safe.
