IPOH: Two young brothers who drowned in an unfenced retention pond at a construction site near their home on Wednesday, were found hugging each other when rescuers jumped in to save them.
Their grieving mother, S. Krishnavani, 29, said her two sons – F. Tinesh, nine, and F. Denesh, eight – were inseparable.
She said the two boys were not only close to each other but also with their younger siblings – F. Harinesh, six, and F. Hegethis, five.
Krishnavani said the tragedy could have been prevented if the construction site had been properly fenced off to stop children from playing there.
“It was raining heavily that day, and I returned home from work slightly late. I was shocked to see my other two children outside the house.
“I asked them where their brothers were and they told me they had fallen into the pond. I immediately ran there but saw nothing.
“I alerted friends, relatives and the construction workers to help search for my children.
“Several Bangladeshi workers jumped into the pond and found my boys hugging each other,” she said when met at her home in Lebuh Perindustrian Sin Yong Seng here today.
She added that Harinesh told her Denesh had fallen into the pond first, and Tinesh, trying to help his brother, also fell in.
Krishnavani, who works at a nearby restaurant, said the construction site had been abandoned for a long time before being reactivated about four months ago.
“The pond was only recently dug. The area has nothing, no iron rods, no fence, nothing,” she said, adding that the site is only about 100 metres from her rented home.
Krishnavani also said that her husband, who works at a welding shop in Negeri Sembilan, only returns home once a month.
The remains of the two boys were cremated at the Sungai Siput Crematorium.
Checks by the New Straits Times at the construction site showed that no fence had been installed near the retention pond, and the area was only cordoned off with police yellow tape.
The site is designated for the construction of 13 single-storey light industrial units.
District police chief Assistant Commissioner Abang Zainal Abidin Abang Ahmad said initial investigations at the scene revealed that the construction site was not secured with fencing, and no warning signage had been displayed to alert the public of potential hazards.
© New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd
