Child drowned in Denpasar river

DENPASAR, Bali: A swollen river here swept away a three-and-a- half-year-old child on Wednesday, who was presumed drowned after hours of fruitless searching.

The incident took place at 7:45 a.m. local time when the Tukad Buana river, which flows through the village of Padang Sambian Kaja, some 10 kilometers west of here, was in flood following torrential rain earlier in the morning.

The victim, Jimmy Murdiono, was playing with his older sisters Santy (13) and Aty (5) beside the river when it suddenly burst its banks and swept the children away.

Santy and Aty managed to save themselves and ran to their house, located close to the river, to seek their fathers' help.

Tumbuh Haryono, the children's father could do nothing to save Jimmy, and neighbors shortly afterwards reported the incident to the police.

"We believe that the boy's body was washed out to the mouth of the river and into Bali's south sea," the Search and Rescue (SAR) team leader Sr. Insp. Taqwil Ichsan said after his men failed to find the child's body. (zen)