A 12-year-old boy dies after drowning in Kali Baru, Kramat Jati, East Jakarta

Jakarta (ANTARA) - A 12-year-old boy named M. Aditya Naufal was found dead after drowning in the Kali Baru river in Kampung Tengah, Kramat Jati, East Jakarta, on Wednesday afternoon.

The witness Reza said, ‘The kids were swimming in a group of five. When they reached a street with a downhill area, the victim disappeared. When he was found, he was already not breathing.’

The incident occurred when the boy and his friends were playing in the water and swimming using a parasut along the Kali Baru river. This activity is known to be common among children in the area, particularly after rain when the river’s discharge increases.

Before being found dead, the victim was seen swimming downflow with his friends. However, a few moments later, one of the children cried out for help to nearby residents because the victim suddenly disappeared and was not visible on the surface.

Residents at the scene immediately began searching. After some time, the boy was found wedged near a water pipe inside the river. Reza said that at the time of discovery the victim was not breathing. He pulled the body to the surface and checked for a pulse, but the victim had already died.

‘From five of them, until they reached the street with the downhill section, the victim disappeared. His friends looked for him and found him wedged on the water pipe. I pulled him up, checked the pulse, there was no life,’ Reza explained.

According to him, the depth of the Kali Baru river at that location varies. Not all of it is deep; some parts are quite dangerous for children, especially when water levels rise due to rainfall.

‘People say it isn’t deep, relatively. Some parts are shallow, some parts are deep. Children do swim there every day. After rain, perhaps he was exhausted because the faces of the children were also tired,’ Reza said.

Meanwhile, the victim’s friend named Dufan said the victim had been seen swimming as usual before he eventually sank. Panic occurred when the victim no longer surfaced.

The family cried as the victim’s body was evacuated by residents to the home in mourning. The atmosphere at the victim’s residence was emotional when family and relatives learned that the child had died due to drowning.

Officers from the Kramat Jati Police Sector who arrived at the scene immediately conducted an on-site examination to determine the exact cause of death. The police also requested statements from several witnesses at the scene.