JOHOR BARU, March 6 — A teenager with dwarfism, who was reported missing while playing near a drain at Jalan Rajawali 16, Taman Wawasan near Kulai, yesterday, was found drowned today.

Kulai Fire and Rescue station (BPP) assistant fire superintendent Fairuz Helmi Mohd Ali said that the department received an emergency call at about 9pm, and mobilised a light fire rescue tender (LFRT) and an Emergency Medical Rescue Services (EMRS) unit from BBP Kulai, with a total strength of seven members, to the scene.

He said according to witnesses, the 17-year-old teenager was believed to have been playing near the drain with a friend when he slipped into the water and was carried away by currents.

"The victim’s father, who realised that his son had not come home as usual, continued to ask the parents of the friend who was playing with his son, and called the 999 emergency line,” he said, in a statement today.

He said that the initial search was carried out around the site where the victim was last seen, and today’s operation involved a search along the drain, which found the victim’s body five kilometres from the location where he was reported to have fallen.

The victim’s body has been handed over to the police for further action, and the rescue operation ended at 1.28pm today.

Meanwhile, Kulai district police chief Supt Tan Seng Lee, when contacted, confirmed the incident and said that the police would issue a statement later. — Bernama