KOTA BARU, May 27 — A 64-year-old man was drowned after falling into an old well at the back of his house in Jalan Bayam here today.

In the 9am incident, the victim, Che Ismail Che Abdullah, was said to be repairing his car in front of the house before walking to the back.

The victim’s wife, Maimun Ahmad, 70, said she was sewing at home when she saw her husband walking to the back portion of the house.

“I did not suspect anything and later I heard someone groaning before I dashed to find my husband in the well,” she told reporters at her residence.

Maimun said she managed to grab both her husband’s hands but could not lift him as he was too heavy.         

“I then ask him to recite his prayers before he let go of his grip on my hands and went under the water,” she said.

Meanwhile a Kota Baharu Fire and Rescue operation officer Azlan Zainal said they received a call at 10.06am and got to the location three minutes later.

“Eight firemen managed to pull the victim out of the well in 15 minutes.

“The well is about eight metres deep and by the time we got to the scene, the victim had drowned,” he said.

The body was brought to Raja Perempuan Zainab II Hospital for a post-mortem. — Bernama