Father, two children drown during outing in Sungai Balak, Batang Kali

KUALA LUMPUR: A father and two of his children drowned during an weekend outing at Sungai Balak near Batang Kali on Sunday (May 5).

Selangor Fire and Rescue Department director Wan Md Razali Wan Ismail said that their bodies were found at 1.35pm on Sunday following a brief search after the department received a distress call at 1.09pm.

A team of 12 personnel from the Kuala Kubu Baru, assisted by the Shah Alam and Port Klang water rescue team, rushed to the location of the incident following the call.

"Initial reports indicated that the three victims were a man, identified as Arif Fadzil Abdul Saleh, 43, and two of his children, daughter - Damia, aged nine, and son - Malik, aged six.

"They were found around 30m from where they went missing and there was no water surge when the incident occurred," he said in a statement on Sunday.

All three victims were confirmed dead by the Health Ministry team and their bodies had been sent to the Kuala Kubu Baru Hospital for further action.

He said the family were from the nearby Kg Kuantan and had gone to the river for a Sunday outing.

According to firemen who were on the scene, Arif Fadzil and his wife had gone to the river with their seven children.

The two deceased children Damia and Malik, started struggling in the water and their father had rushed to rescue them when the mishap happened.