Nine year old drowns in S. Sulawesi river

MAKASSAR, South Sulawesi: The body of a nine-year-old boy named Yurmunandar was recovered on Friday after he had been swept away by a strong current in the Je'neberang River in Gowa regency, South Sulawesi.

His body was found by a fisherman at 12.30 p.m, approximately three kilometers from where he had gone missing.

Witnesses said the accident began when the boy was playing on Thursday under Sungguminasa Bridge with his six-year-old brother Jaka, trying to catch a fish.

The two of them were apparently very busy looking for fish when all of a sudden, a strong current came and swept both of them out into the water. A local, who happened to be nearby, immediately dove into the river to save the children. He saved Jaka, but Yurmunandar was lost to the current.

The University of Hasanuddin's Search and Rescue (SAR) team, the South Sulawesi Mobile Brigade SAR team and the Sulawesi Rescue Team were deployed to the river to find Yurmunandar

The search began at 6 p.m., but did not find any trace of Yurmunandar. At 12:30 p.m. the following day, a man who was fishing found Yurmunandar's fully clothed body floating on the river.

Yurmunandar was buried on Friday afternoon in Galesong, Takalar regency. -- JP