‘They only wanted to help me on the farm’ — Grandfather heartbroken as teenage grandsons feared drowned in Kelantan river

KUALA KRAI, May 5 — What was meant to be a meaningful first trip with his grandsons turned into a tragedy for 62-year-old Hamzah Yahya, after the two teenagers are now feared to have drowned in Sungai Kampung Kilat on Saturday.

The victims, Irruwan Rantau, 17, and Rahidi Rantau, 16, had arrived in Kelantan last week with their grandfather and 30 other workers to help out on a watermelon farm. It was their first time leaving their hometown of Rompin, Pahang, to join Hamzah for work.

“They were so excited to help me plant watermelon seeds,” said a visibly shaken Hamzah. “I never thought things would end this way.”

According to Hamzah, the two boys had mentioned they were heading to the riverbank to fish before the incident happened. Moments later, their cousin came running back in distress, informing him that both boys had drowned while swimming.

“I rushed to the river with two of my sons. We searched and called out for them, but found nothing. Eventually, I filed a police report,” he said.

The victims' parents arrived at the site around 11am today after receiving news of the incident. Hamzah has since been waiting by the river, clinging to the hope that any movement in the water might signal his grandsons’ return.

“They just wanted to help me earn a living, but I ended up losing both of them,” he said, overcome with grief.

The victims’ 14-year-old cousin, Rosyam Nor, who witnessed the incident, recounted how the three had gone to the river to search for worms as fishing bait.

“Irruwan asked us to go swimming. I told him not to because the current was strong, but he insisted,” Rosyam said. Not long after entering the water, Irruwan began to struggle. Rahidi jumped in to help, but the current was too strong and carried them both away.

“I was in shock. I didn’t tell my grandmother immediately, but I knew I had to before they were swept even further,” he added.

Sungai Durian Fire and Rescue Station chief Zulhilmi Baharudin said no signs of the victims have been found yet. He explained that the strong currents were hindering search efforts, and the operation would resume Monday morning due to safety concerns.

“Today, we expanded our search radius to between five and ten kilometres from where the boys were last seen. Unfortunately, we haven’t found any leads,” he said.

Yesterday’s search involved surface and underwater dives, along with patrols using boats across multiple zones.

A total of 48 personnel took part in today's operation, including the Water Rescue Team (PPDA) from Pengkalan Chepa and Machang fire stations, the Royal Malaysia Police, Civil Defence Force, as well as local villagers and orchard workers who lent their support. — Bernama