RANTAU PANJANG: Father of missing 11-year old Nur Damia Qiasara Mohd Sabri did not hesitate to jump into a river at Kampung Petai Dusun near here, in search of his daughter.
After half an hour of trying to find his daughter, he managed to locate her friend, Siti Aishah Mahzi, 11, and pulled her to the riverbank.
"As soon as I was informed that my daughter Damia had drowned in the river, I immediately rushed to the scene and jumped in to search for her," said Mohd Sabri Mohd Noor, 33.
"Alhamdulillah, at least one of the victims was found, even though it was reported that she had passed away. My heart is now restless, thinking about the fate of my child who has yet to be found.
"My wife, Farah Adnan, and I have not left the incident site since this evening and have been patiently waiting for the rescue team to continue the search mission for my child until midnight.
"We never cease to pray that our eldest child will be found soon, no matter in what condition," he said when met at the scene of the incident last night.
Meanwhile, the mother of Nur Damia said that the eldest of the three siblings had informed her that she wanted to go out and see the floodwaters.
"I had advised her not to play in the water, and as far as I know, she has never bathed in this river. I accept with open arms and pray that my child will be found soon.
"As a mother, I can only pray for the best and will continue to patiently wait until Nur Damia is found," she said.
Earlier, it was reported that a standard five female student was found drowned, while her friend is still missing after falling into the river at Kampung Petai Dusun, here, at around 6.30pm yesterday.
Rantau Panjang Fire and Rescue Station Commander, Azmi Jaafar, said that Siti Aishah, 11, was found at 7.15pm before being reported dead while receiving treatment at Tanah Merah Hospital (HTM) here.
