Rescue personnel are still searching for an 8-year-old boy believed to have drowned in the Ciliwung River in East Jakarta.

The incident took place in Kampung Melayu on Tuesday morning, said East Jakarta Fire and Rescue Agency operational head Gatot Sulaeman.

The boy decided to go swimming in the river, but he was carried away by the heavy current

“His friends tried to prevent him from jumping into the river [and] they also tried to save him. He was carried away by the water,” Gatot said as quoted by tribunnews.com.

Fourteen firefighters with two inflatable boats were deployed to search for the boy, Gatot said, adding that other fire and rescue agencies in neighboring municipalities had also joined the search.

The Ciliwung River is not very deep, but its current can be dangerous, he explained.

Gatot said he had contacted the operator of the Manggarai sluice gate in South Jakarta in case the victim appears there.

“[The sluice gate officers] continue to open and close the gate. We are not sure if the victim is stuck there. We haven’t heard any reports from the gate officers,” he said. (das)

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