Six-year-old boy dies after falling into a canal in Sungai Dua.

KEPALA BATAS, April 10 — A six-year-old boy drowned after falling into a canal in Sungai Dua along Jalan Bertam Perdana 2 here yesterday.

Penang Fire and Rescue Department (JBPM) assistant director (Operations) John Sagun Francis said the victim, identified as Muhammad Aryan Hakim Muhammad Jamaluddin, was found floating roughly three kilometres from the point where he was reported to have fallen.

He said the department received an emergency call at 5.03pm and immediately deployed teams from the Bertam and Kepala Batas fire and rescue stations to the location.

“At the time of the incident, the child was believed to have been playing near the water’s edge with a friend before slipping and falling into the canal,” he said in a statement yesterday.

The operations commander carried out a size-up while wearing full personal protective equipment (PPE), conducted an initial assessment, and began search and rescue efforts using surface water search techniques.

John Sagun Francis said that at 5.29pm, authorities received information from members of the public that the boy had been located drifting about three kilometres from where he fell. Rescue personnel then entered the canal, retrieved him, and performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).

He added that the victim was later handed over to Health Ministry medical personnel, who confirmed his death, before the body was released to police and sent to Kepala Batas Hospital for further procedures.

A Bernama survey at the hospital found the child’s parents were overcome with grief during the identification process, with relatives seen consoling them.

It is understood that the youngest of four siblings will undergo a post-mortem at 9am today, before funeral prayers are held at Abdullah Fahim Mosque in the afternoon.

The burial is expected to take place at the Seberang Perai Utara (SPU) Central Muslim Cemetery in Permatang Langsat. — Bernama