13-year-old boy reportedly went missing while fishing in Kallang River
More than a day after he went missing, a 13-year-old boy was found dead in the Kallang River on Thursday (26 Feb) night.
His body was retrieved from the river after a resident said he saw something floating in the water, reported The Straits Times (ST).
Source: Noris Tavant on Facebook
Police called after person seen floating in the river
In response to ST’s queries, the Singapore Police Force (SPF) said it was alerted at about 10.35pm about a person floating in the Kallang River.
The police cordoned off the area, with about 60 residents and rescue personnel descending upon the location.
Earlier, three officers from the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) were seen searching the water surface with torches at about 9.30pm.
SCDF retrieves body of missing boy from Kallang River
The SCDF, which was alerted at the same time, said its firefighters and rescuers from the Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team (DART) retrieved the person.
A photo shared by a resident on Facebook showed them carrying what appeared to be a body covered by a sheet.
Source: Noris Tavant on Facebook
He was pronounced dead at the scene by a paramedic, SCDF added.
No foul play is suspected, based on preliminary investigations, SPF said.
Police investigations are ongoing.
SCDF had searched for 12 hours
Earlier on Thursday, SCDF had ended an active search for the boy at about 7pm after 12 hours.
SCDF had said at the time that it would monitor the situation and conduct periodic checks in the area.
The boy first went missing at about 4.30pm on Wednesday (25 Feb), with the SCDF searching for more than four hours that day.
However, they were forced to suspend search operations as a safety precaution due to low visibility as nightfall approached.
After the boy first went missing, a witness had told Lianhe Zaobao that the incident happened near Block 8B Upper Boon Keng Road, when a group of youngsters had taken off their shoes and were playing near the river between 3pm and 4pm.
A male resident said he heard that four Malay youths were fishing when one of them fell into the river.
Another resident told Zaobao that he often saw a group of teenagers fishing in the area.
Mother & brothers waited for missing boy at river
The boy’s mother, who gave her name only as Madam Siti, told ST in an earlier interview that her son was named Daniel.
When she was told that Daniel had fallen into the Kallang River while fishing, she had wondered why he went fishing, as he had no fishing experience and was not a strong swimmer.
Since he went missing, Madam Siti had been waiting at the river with Daniel’s brothers, aged 14 and 11.
After his body was retrieved, a male family member went to identify the body and returned crying, confirming that it was him.
Also read: 13-year-old boy reported missing in Kallang River, search suspended till dawn on 26 Feb
13-year-old boy reported missing in Kallang River, search suspended till dawn on 26 Feb
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Featured image adapted from Noris Tavant on Facebook and Facebook.
