14-year-old saved from rising flood waters in nick of time
LAWAS: Frolicking in the flood is fun for most children, especially for those who can swim.
But for non-swimmers if you think it is safe to watch your friends splashing in rising floods, think again.
That was what happened to 14-year-old Azali Ikmal.
Azali does not swim but he thought it was fun seeing his friends splashing in the rising flood waters in their village, Kampung Masjid Merapok, here, from a little mount.
But before he realised it, Azali was in the middle of rising flood waters that by the time rescuers came to his aid, he was having problem keeping his head above six feet of water.
Azali was lucky, though. Some members of the Civil Defence Force monitoring the flood were not far off.
By some coincidence, the team was drawn to a group of teenagers who were frolicking in the floods at 12.30pm, and moved closer to inspect.
Seconds later the personnel saw Azali waving desperately at them. Apparently, his friends did not realise his predicament.
Azali was stranded at a spot where the water was six feet deep and about 50 to 50 metres away from his friends.
The civil defence team took about four minutes, using a “collar tow” technique to bring him to safety.
One of the team members explained how they put a life jacket on the boy before pulling him to safety.
Kampung Masjid Merapok is among villages affected by Saturday night’s non-stop rain that flooded several areas in the district.
Rising waters, reaching up to three feet high, forced nine people from two families in two villages, namely, Kampung Pangi and Kampung Munchu to be evacuated.
Among the evacuees were three infants from Kampung Munchu.
The two families were putting up with their relatives.
However, the flood did not reach a level that warranted the opening of an evacuation centre, authorities therefore only monitored the situation.
