KANGAR: An eight-year-old boy endured pain for about 20 minutes when his right leg became stuck in a metal grill drain cover in front of his school in Jalan Derma this afternoon.
School pupils as well as members of the public consoled the panicked boy while waiting for emergency services personnel to arrive.
It was learnt that the boy was walking out the school gates after the school sessions ended. He had stepped on the drain cover before his foot slipped through the metal grill gap, leaving him pinned up to his knee.
A state Fire and Rescue Department spokesman said a team of 11 firefighters was deployed to the scene after being alerted to the incident.
They managed to cut the metal grill and free the boy at 2.20pm.
The boy, who sustained minor injuries, was sent to the Tuanku Fauziah Hospital via ambulance for treatment.
Checks showed that a similar incident had taken place at the same spot last year.
It is learnt that concerns over safety issues involving the drain cover had been raised with the school after the previous incident but no action had been taken so far.