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Father drowns saving 5-year-old son trapped in sinking car in Malaysia

A 40-year-old man died jumping into river to save five-year-old son trapped in car after it rolled down to riverbank while fishing

Tragic incident as a 40-year-old man lost his life while trying to save his five-year-old son. The son was trapped in their car, which had rolled down to the riverbank while they were fishing on Sunday evening. (PHOTO: FB/KorporatJBPM)
Tragic incident as a 40-year-old man lost his life while trying to save his five-year-old son. The son was trapped in their car, which had rolled down to the riverbank while they were fishing on Sunday evening. (PHOTO: FB/KorporatJBPM)

MALAYSIA — A heroic father sacrificed his own life to save his son in a tragic accident near a village in the district of Putatan in Sabah.

The Star reported that Lasibi Lawadihu, a 40-year-old man, lost his life after jumping into a river to save his five-year-old son, Mushab Umair Lasibi, who was trapped inside their car after it rolled down to the riverbank while they were fishing on Sunday evening.

Despite the valiant efforts of rescue workers who searched tirelessly for Lasibi throughout the night, it was only at 9am on Monday (27 March) morning that his body was finally recovered along the river, according to the Malaysian news outlet.

His body was spotted with the assistance of a police drone and was taken to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Kota Kinabalu for a post-mortem.

The Penampang district police chief, Deputy Supt Mohd Haris Ibrahim, said that the tragic incident took place while the father and son were fishing on the riverbank.

The car they were in, a Perodua Myvi, suddenly moved before tumbling into the river.

"The victim is said to have managed to get his son out of the vehicle before being helped by a man who happened to be there fishing,

"The man took the child; the victim apparently disappeared under the water," he said.

The child, Mushab, was rescued and taken to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital for further treatment on Sunday evening.

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