By Malcolm Lau
KUCHING, 26 July: A 14-year-old boy is missing after he was dragged into the river by a crocodile while he was collecting snails along a river near Rumah Panjang Darat, Tanjung Manis today.
The Fire and Rescue Department (Bomba) were alerted to the incident at 11.28am and deployed a team to the scene.
According to a statement from the state Bomba operations centre, the missing boy was collecting snails together with his mother and two friends. The mother witnessed the boy being attacked and dragged into the river by a crocodile.
The Bomba team took 30 minutes to reach the scene as it is located 27km away from the nearest station.
The team used two boats to start the search operation, together with five residents from the longhouse.
Bite marks from a crocodile were spotted on a log at the scene and Bomba had also increased their search radius by three kilometers towards Sungai Batang Belawai.
The police have also been alerted, and as at press time, the search is ongoing. — DayakDaily
