PARIT: A teenager was left traumatised after witnessing two of his best friends drown right in front of his eyes.
Rescue operations are still ongoing for the two teenagers who went missing in Sungai Perak near Kampung Tepus, here, Monday (Feb 17) while trying to retrieve a ball that fell into the river.
Mohd Irfan Solihin Mohd Rizal, 14, said he saw Muhammad Naufal Aiman Dzulkarnain, 16, and Muhammad Nazrin Haidar Mohd Hisham, 16, screaming for help before going under around 4pm.
"I can still remember Aiman screaming for help. Nazrin tried to help him but failed.
"The image keeps coming back over and over again in my mind," he said when met at the scene.
Irfan said they were playing football by the river after school when the ball fell into the river and Naufal volunteered to retrieve it.
"We told him not to go but he insisted," Irfan said.
Irfan said that Nazrin went down into the river and tried to reach out to Naufal with a bamboo stick before both boys disappeared under the water.
Nazrin's mother, Norhidayah Mohd Shabidin, 42, accepted her son's fate but wanted to see his face one last time.
"Upon hearing about the news, I immediately rushed to the scene. He never told me that was their playing area," the mother of six said.
Naufal's mother, Norhayati Ramlly, 46, said her son was a diligent boy who helped her in her business at the morning market in Parit town.
According to Norhayati, she was aware that her son - third out of five siblings - often played in the area with Nazrin and other friends.
"Just that yesterday, he left without telling me where he wanted to go. I also didn't have time to speak to him and now I receive this sad news," she said.- Bernama
