A poor couple is mourning the death of their two-year-old son who fell into a drain flooded following heavy rain while they were trying to earn money by selling food in the street.

Little Muhammad Danish Mohd Faizal was playing with a sibling not far from where his parents were offering nasi kerabu, a Malaysian rice dish served with chicken or fish, in the city of Malacca, Malacca State, in southwestern Malaysia.

Heartbroken mum Nor Amiza Che Kar, 28, and her husband called the emergency services after they noticed that Muhammad had disappeared with only his slippers left lying in the grass on 24th November.

The Fire and Rescue Department of Malaysia, commonly known as Bomba, immediately launched a comprehensive search for the child. Pictures released by the authorities obtained by Newsflash show firefighters checking on manholes and lids in the area.

Muhammad’s body was found floating 1.3 kilometres (0.8 miles) from the location where he went missing the next day (25th November), according to Fire and Rescue Department spokesman Zulkhairani Ramli.

Firefighters had searched for Muhammad for 18 hours.

The spokesman said: “The victim’s father suspects his son fell into the 0.6-metre (two feet) wide and one-metre (3.3 feet) deep drain.

“We received information from the public regarding the discovery of an object floating in a drain in the Taman Desa Baru area. Rescue personnel dispatched to the location found that the object was a boy’s body.”

He added: “The body has been sent to the Melaka Hospital for a post-mortem.”

Social media users were saddened by the news.

User ‘Panis Ain’ told the mourning parents: “I hope you will be given strength.”

‘Masayu Abdullah’ added: “May you be strong and persevere.”

‘Syima Mohd Daud’ just commented: “My condolences.”

And ‘They Fyda Muda’ said: “May you persevere over the loss of your beloved child who is now in heavenly paradise.”