SARIKEI, Nov 13 — The body of a 17-year-old boy who went missing after he was believed to have jumped into Sungai Batang Paloh on Thursday night was found this morning (Saturday) without any limbs.

This led search and rescue (SAR) team members to suspect Alex Rudy Roy Ali was actually attacked and dragged into the river by a crocodile while he was sitting on the edge of a jetty.

However, at the time of writing, the police had yet to classify the case.

According to a statement from the State Fire and Rescue Department (Bomba) operations centre and Sarikei Civil Defence Department (APM), villagers participating in the SAR operation found Alex’s body around 8.30am, around 2km from the scene of the incident.

"A SAR operation for the victim, involving personnel from the police department, Bomba, Civil Defence Department, and villagers, had been activated the next morning and as the operation resumed this morning, the Bomba team received information that the body had been found and right away rushed to the specified location to retrieve it,” said the statement.

Alex’s body has since been handed over to the police for further action.

Based on information given by Alex’s companions to SAR team members, he was believed to have suddenly jumped into Sungai Batang Paloh from the jetty at Rumah Wun, Berkakong, about 37km from Tanjung Manis around 11.05pm.

The two friends had heard a splash and thought he had jumped into the water.

They became worried after Alex failed to surface after quite some time and jumped in after him.

However, when they failed to locate him, they decided to get help from the longhouse residents. — Borneo Post Online