A 17-year-old student drowned in Sungai Kampung Gelam after being seen struggling in the water by friends who were unable to rescue him.

ALOR SETAR: A 17-year-old male student drowned while swimming in Sungai Kampung Gelam here today.

Kota Setar district police chief ACP Syed Basri Syed Ali said the victim was a fifth-form student at Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Darulaman. He had gone to the river with four friends before the incident.

The group went to the river from Taman Derga Jaya to swim around 5.30 pm. While in the water, his friends saw him struggling before he eventually sank.

His friends attempted to rescue him but he sank in the middle of the river. They then alerted the public to call the police.

An emergency call was received at 6.20 pm. The Malaysian Fire and Rescue Department personnel recovered the victim’s body at 6.41 pm.

An external examination found no signs of injury on the body. It has been sent to the Forensic Department at Hospital Sultanah Bahiyah for a post-mortem scheduled for 10 am tomorrow.

 The Sun Malaysia