KUALA TERENGGANU: A three-year-old child is feared drowned after falling off a canal bridge in Kampung Kebor Besar, in Manir near here on Monday (Dec 12) afternoon.

The victim, Muhammad Sufi Eijas Mohd Sobrey, who lives in a nearby village, was playing on the low bridge over a stream with his eight-year-old brother Syakir Wafiuuddin before he fell into the ditch.

Terengganu Fire and Rescue Department (JBPM) chief operations commander Mazimi Mohamad said a distress call was received at 4.28pm, stating that a child was missing after falling off the bridge.

A JBPM Water Rescue Unit team was deployed to the scene, he said.

“A search was mobilised for almost two hours with four dives before sunset with the help of other agencies and villagers.

“So far there are no signs of the victim. We will continue the search tonight until tomorrow,” he said at the location, adding that the ditch was deep due to rain with a strong current.

“The grassy ground and tree roots make the search difficult. There is a possibility that the victim was entangled in the tree roots,” he said.

Meanwhile, the victim’s father, Mohd Sobrey Ramli, 32, said he and his three children, including the victim, had gone to the area on a motorcycle at 4pm for a stroll before sending them for their religious lessons nearby.

He said as soon as he arrived, the victim and his brother Muhammad Syakir Wafiuudin rushed off his motorcycle towards the canal to see children taking a dip.

“I had hardly gotten off the motorcycle when my eldest son came running to say Eijas (the victim) was missing.

“I rushed there and dived in to look for him but he was nowhere to be found,” said Mohd Sobrey who works as a security guard at the Kuala Terengganu Polytechnic.

“I never thought I could lose a child in the blink of an eye. I am devastated,” he said. – Bernama