JOHOR BARU, Nov 16 — An eight-year-old boy is feared to have drowned after he fell into an eight-feet deep drain while playing with his friends in Bandar Baru Uda, Tampoi, here yesterday.

North Johor Baru district police chief ACP Balveer Singh Mahindar Singh said his department received a report from a woman about the incident at about 3.51pm yesterday.

He said the victim along with two other boys aged seven and eight were playing in the water by the drain near the location.

"However, the victim reportedly slipped into the drain and was swept away by strong current towards the large drain near the Warda Mart supermarket in Tampoi.

"Following that, we have opened an incident control post (PKTK) at the location and are now actively conducting a search operation with the Malaysian Fire and Rescue Department and the Malaysian Civil Defence Force,” he said in a statement today.

Balveer said the search operation covered the area around the incident site up to the nearby river and the case is being investigated under the police-missing-person inquiry paper (KEP-OH).

"At the same time, we call on the public who have related information to contact investigating officer Inspector Helmy Halim at 012-5759953.

"We also want to remind parents to always monitor their children and make sure they don’t play in risky areas such as rivers or drains, especially during the monsoon season,” he said.

Meanwhile, Senior Fire Officer I KUP Nordatul Badrol Abd Rahman said in a separate statement that the water was eight feet deep where the victim disappeared, and it was raining at the time.

He said the Operation Release Team (PKO) conducted a search using the ‘search surface’ method from the point last seen all the way to Sungai Skudai in Kampung Usaha Jaya.

"Meanwhile, the second search action is with the help of villagers’ boats to search in the estuary area near the garbage trap,” he said. — Bernama