MERSING: A mother lamented over the drowning of her two children who were merely playing with their cousin on the beach in Pulai Mentigi.
Nurul Huda Abdul Rahman, 44, said she and three of her children – including Ahmad Uwais Al-Qarni, 13, and Nur Awatif Udaima, 15, who drowned – had gone along to the island with five other family members for a picnic, without any plans to swim.
“We had just finished lunch, and Uwais had helped serve food and pour drinks for everyone. He was the last to eat. Usually, he eats quickly, but this time he took his time. When we asked for help with food or drinks, he did it without a fuss.”
“Afterwards, they played by the beach. Not long after, his sister, Nur Awatif Udaima, approached me for help in fixing her scoop net. I was just about to hand it back to her when their youngest sibling, aged 10, came running over and told me that her older sister and brother (Ahmad Uwais Al-Qarni and Nur Awatif Udaima) were no longer in sight,“ she said.
Speaking to reporters at her home in Kampung Bahagia here, Nurul Huda said she rushed over and found only their cousin in the area, with no sign of her third and fourth child.
After failing to locate her two children and with strong waves, she sought help from nearby people.
“They weren’t the type to get overly excited by water; they were just splashing around. But the waves came and pulled them away before they vanished in an instant,“ she said tearfully.
Nurul Huda, a student management assistant, said that Nur Awatif Udaima was a Form Three student at SMK Mersing, while Ahmad Uwais Al-Qarni was a Form One student at Sekolah Menengah Agama Al-Khairiah Al-Islamiah Mersing.
She added that during the incident, her husband, Mohd Hisam Md Sahar, 46, and their two other children were not present, as they lived in Kulai and returned only on weekends.
She said the bodies of the two siblings were buried in the same grave at the At-Thahiriyah Muslim Cemetery in Batu 3 at 10 am today.
Yesterday, Mersing Maritime Zone Director Commander Suhaizan Saadin said that the siblings, aged 15 and 13, were found drowned at the beach of Pulau Mentigi.
