One pupil drowned and two others are feared missing after a newly-built suspension bridge collapsed into the Kampar River as pupils participating in a 1Malaysia camp were walking across at Sekolah Kebangsaan Kuala Dipang near Kampar last night.

NONE About 20 pupils managed to hold on to the ropes of the collapsed bridge and saved themselves while several others were pulled out of the swift-flowing river by a teacher and a guard of the school in the incident at about 10.30pm.

Nineteen other pupils feared missing at first had been accounted for and were safe, police said.

"From reports from the teachers on the scene we believe that there were 22 children on the bridge when it collapsed," said Kampar police chief Aziz Salleh.

The accident happened after 298 pupils from 60 primary schools in Kampar, Tronoh and Batu Gajah had arrived to participate in a 1Malaysia camp organised by the Kinta Selatan District Education Department.

The body of the drowned pupil, identified as Dina Deve Nathan, was recovered at 8.30am and had been sent to the Kampar Hospital.

The two missing pupils have been identified as Diryasree Vasudevan, 12, of Sekolah Rendah Kebangsaan Tamil (SJKT) Gopeng and Davadharshini Maheswaran, 11, of SJKT Mambang Di Awan.

kampar perak map 271009 The students had come yesterday for the registration and were walking across the bridge from the campsite to the school to have their dinner when the accident happened.

The search and rescue operation involves some 300 personnel led by the police, scoured the riverbanks for any sign of the missing pair.

By this evening, the search has been extended 15km downriver.

In a related development, Education Minister Muhyiddin Yassin announced that a team will be formed by the ministry to probe the accident.

He said the team will be headed by the Education Ministry director-general Ali Muddin Md Dom.

State television showed dozens of parents at the campsite waiting for news of their children, as investigators examined the supports of the 50-metre walking bridge, which appeared to have been torn out of the ground.

Muhyiddin, who visited the site and spoke with distressed parents, promising the government would probe the cause of the collapse of the newly installed bridge.

"What has occurred should not have happened and we want a full investigation into what happened and those responsible to be held accountable," he said.

Meanwhile over at the Parliament, DAP's Ipoh Barat MP M Kula Segaran has also filed an emergency motion in the Dewan Rakyat to debate on the fatal accident.

Parents outraged

Parents of the pupils rushed to the school upon hearing news of the accident, and several of them became angry when they could not confirm the safety of their children even as late as 3am.

The police had received a report that a teacher was assaulted by

the father of a pupil early today.

NONE A pupil, K Mathivanan, 12, said the bridge collapsed all of a sudden when about 30 to 50 pupils were on it, some walking to the school and others returning to the campsite.

He said the bridge had swayed a lot before it collapsed as several of the pupils were jumping about and playing with one another.

“All of a sudden, we found ourselves thrown into the river. I managed to hold on to a rope. The current was swift but I managed to drag myself out of the water," he said.

NONE The bridge, about 50 metres long, was built about two weeks ago to replace an old one which had collapsed, said a member of the school's Parent-Teacher Association.

A teacher, Mohd Safri Abdul Rafar, said he was not far from the bridge when it collapsed and quickly jumped over a fence and dived into the river in the attempt to rescue the pupils.

"I managed to pull out three or four pupils. The current was swift and I almost got dragged away," he said. Safri said he went into the river again and pulled out five more pupils.

NONE A guard of the school, who identified himself as Idris, said he pulled out six pupils from the river.

Safri said he was sad that he could not rescue a pupil who had held onto a metal cable before being dragged away by the current.

Twenty-three teachers were involved in the camp, the second to be organised by the Kinta Selatan district education department after the first one held at the Sekolah Kebangsaan Pos Raya last week.

Probe launched

Similar camps were to be held simultaneously today in the Larut, Matang and Selama as well as Manjung district, said Safri, adding that the pupils were from all races and the aim of the camp was to foster unity and interaction through activities such as traditional cooking, cultural training and games.

NONE Perak Menteri Besar Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir visited the scene of the accident last night and ordered an immediate investigation.

"The suspension bridge was newly built. We want to know if it was built NONE to specifications as it collapsed after a metal pillar got ripped off the ground," he said.

A metal pillar and its concrete block foundation got ripped off the ground in the incident and part of the bridge walkway was afloat on the river.

A villager said the way the bridge was constructed had given rise to questions, especially pertaining to the size of the base concrete block which did not match the metal pillars which held the cables.

The Kampar River is known for extreme water sports. The part of the river where the bridge collapsed is about 30 metres wide and 1.5 metres deep.

- Bernama

'They were jumping on suspension bridge'