PETALING JAYA: The father of a missing 10-year-old boy who fell into a drain in Bandar Puncak Alam said his son told him that he "was going far away" before the incident.
Khairil Izani Khaizalulinurdin is feared to have drowned after he was reported missing during heavyt rain on Tuesday (April 28).
Khaizalulinurdin Nurdin, 45, said he noticed changes in his son’s behaviour just days before the incident.
"I sent him to school as usual on Monday. On Tuesday, I couldn’t send him. Normally, he would kiss my cheek and greet me before leaving, but that day he didn’t. He also said he was going far away," he said when met on Wednesday (April 29).
Khaizalulinurdin said he already had a strong feeling that something bad had happened when he began searching for his son on the day he was reported missing.
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"When I was looking for him, I already felt in my heart that he was gone.
"I was convinced he had been swept away at around 4pm.
"I went down there, there were many metal structures. I tried to dive and search, but I couldn’t find him.
"I imagine he may have hit the metal when the (current) was strong, we don’t know. The water could have carried him anywhere," he told reporters.
Khaizalulinurdin, a lorry driver, said his wife was at home at the time, and their house is located some distance from the area where the child was last seen.
He said the family is now coming to terms with the incident, although he still holds out hope that his son may be found safe.
Search and rescue operations have been expanded to a 5km radius, focusing along the waterway towards Taman Industri Alam Jaya.
Bestari Jaya fire station operations commander Azreel Izaidi Ahamad said the search began from the location where the victim was reported to have fallen in, at Lorong 12/30, Cakera Purnama 12/30.
He said the initial area had been checked numerous times by rescuers as well as the victim’s father, but there was no trace of the boy.
"The operation is being carried out according to the incident action plan in stages," he said.
