Five others rescued after vehicle waiting to ferry kids suddenly slides down

JOHOR BARU: A boy drowned while rescuers pulled five others out after the van waiting to ferry the children home slid into a septic pond at Taman Universiti here.

Mohamad Hanafi Jaafar, 46, who lives near where the Tadika Kemas Kaisara is located, said he rushed out to help kindergarten helper Musliza Kasun stop the van from sliding but failed.

He then jumped into the pond to help pull the children out.

“With the help of neighbours, I managed to pull out five children,” he said.

“But, to our horror, there was still one child still inside the sinking van,” he said at the site of the 11.30am tragedy in Jalan Pertanian 7 yesterday.

Five-year-old Muhammad Azri Aqif, the youngest of three siblings, died while being rushed to a clinic after he was pulled out.

Musliza, 35, said she was helping the six children into the van when it suddenly started to reverse.

“It all happened so fast,” she recalled.

“I tried my best to prevent the van from sliding by holding onto the door. But I just could not stop it,” she said in between sobs.

“Parents waiting to pick up their children at the kindergarten came to my aid, but eventually, we could only watch helplessly as the van crashed through the gate leading to the pond,” she said.

Another child, Nur Aima Abd Razak, also five, was admitted to the Sultanah Aminah Hospital here in a critical condition.

The girl’s father said his daughter was unconscious.

“However, doctors said her condition has improved.”

Teacher Siti Nora Daim, 33, who was also at the hospital, said the incident occurred minutes after she had finished teaching the children.

Muhammad Azri’s father Azhar Yusoff, 37, said his youngest son would be taken to their hometown in Kuala Terengganu for burial.

Johor Baru (North) OCPD Asst Comm Mohd Khamsani Abd Rahman said initial investigations revealed that the van was parked and the woman driver was outside the vehicle when it suddenly slid down.

She has been held for questioning.