KUALA BERANG: A pupil who was waiting to resit the UPSR exam drowned after falling into the river at the Belukar Bukit waterfall here today.
Amir Assya'ari Mohd Ariffin, 12, of SK Paya Resak in Bukit Payung, Marang, was believed to have slipped off the edge of the waterfall and fell into the waters during a picnic with his family at about 11am.
District fire and rescue services department operations commander Zainol Yaacob said the body of the victim was found about 10metres away from the spot where he fell at 12.32pm.
"The body was recovered from the depth of 6m in the lake by our rescue team," he said when contacted.
He said the department was alerted about the incident at 11.18am and immediately sent five firemen to the scene for the rescue operation.
Meanwhile, victim's mother Nor Islami Saad, 41, said her son was sitting on a rock with her other child when he suddenly tumbled into the river.
"I saw my son waving his hands and calling for help. I was unable to save him as I do not know how to swim and I was also in a panic," she said.
She said another picnicker who was at the site tried to save her son by jumping into the river but the efforts were futile as the victim quickly submerged into the river.
"My son used to joke with me that he was unwilling to re-sit the two papers that had been leaked. Now, it is a sad reality for us," she said.
Nor Islami said she and 11 other family members, including the victim and relatives, went to the waterfall at about 9am.