Palembang Man Rescues Girl, 6, Trapped Beneath Bridge for About Seven Minutes

A cry beneath the bridge led Rizky to the child

Rizky Farizal, 24, was preparing to leave for work when shouts from his Palembang neighbourhood sent him toward a drainage channel instead. Beneath a bridge, in darkness and water swollen by rain, a girl aged six was holding onto pipes with just enough space above the water to breathe.

The rescue took place at about 4:30 p.m. Western Indonesia Time on Saturday, November 14, 2026, on Jalan Puncak Sekuning, Lorong Swadaya. The child was estimated to have been beneath the bridge for about seven minutes before Rizky brought her out after two attempts.

The girl was identified as Kia in accounts placing the incident in RT 57 RW 13, Lorok Pakjo, Ilir Barat 1 district; another account named her Jiah and placed the Swadaya location in Bukit Kecil district. The rescue drew widespread attention after a video circulated on social media.

Rizky's search depended on hearing and touch. He said he heard a child crying, felt through the darkness and eventually touched her hair. Residents had gathered around the channel, while others watched nearby bridges in case the current carried her farther away.

A fallen sandal and water rising after rain

Kia had been with another child on the bridge after rain. She reportedly slipped while trying to retrieve a sandal that had fallen into the drainage channel. The water was already high and moving strongly.

Another child nearly fell as well, according to the initial description of the incident. Calls for help brought residents to the scene and alerted Rizky as he was setting out for work.

The sequence placed the girl beneath the bridge, where people above could not easily reach her. A narrow gap between the water and the underside of the structure gave her room to lift her face and breathe while holding onto pipes.

Residents watched other bridges as Rizky searched

Rizky first asked where the child had fallen and where she had last been seen. Someone pointed toward the space beneath the bridge. Around him, residents were preparing for the possibility that the flowing water might carry her beyond that spot.

People stationed themselves at other bridges to watch for her. Their positions show how uncertain her location initially was: the search was centred beneath one crossing, but neighbours were also looking farther along the channel.

Rizky checked whether there was space to breathe beneath the bridge before diving. Once inside, he faced both darkness under the structure and murky water that made finding the girl difficult.

Rizky, the resident who entered the drain to search for her, described the moment he located her:

I immediately dived in. I heard a small child crying, then I felt around because it was very dark underneath. Eventually my hand touched the victim's hair.

The crying gave him a direction when he could not see the child. His account describes a search at close range, with his hands finding her in the confined space.

Finding her was only the first part of the rescue

Kia was still holding onto pipes when Rizky reached her. The small space above the water had allowed her to keep breathing while she waited beneath the bridge.

Rizky said he surfaced to take a breath during the search and then went back under. Bringing the child out also required another attempt because they remained beneath the bridge after his first effort.

Rizky described the breathing space and the instruction he gave the girl before they made their way out:

Under the bridge there was a small gap to breathe. After I felt around, I found her. I went straight up because it was difficult. I said, hold on a moment, little one, we'll dive again, then we came out.

The estimate of seven minutes refers to the time the girl spent beneath the bridge. During that period, she was able to breathe through the gap rather than remaining continuously underwater. Reaching her and bringing her past the bridge were separate stages of Rizky's effort.

What happened on November 14 and 15

The rescue unfolded on Saturday afternoon, while the video and Rizky's explanation attracted attention the following day. The main events were:

• November 14, about 4:30 p.m.: The girl slipped into the drainage channel after rain, reportedly while trying to retrieve a fallen sandal.
• Immediately afterward: Residents called for help and watched other bridges as Rizky checked for breathing space and entered the water.
• During the rescue: Rizky heard crying, located the girl by touch and needed two attempts to bring her out.
• After she emerged: Residents helped the child, who was crying, and Rizky rinsed her head with clean water.
• November 15: A rescue video circulated online, and Rizky described what had happened.

The account describing the child as Jiah said she escaped without injury. Details of any medical examination were not given. The immediate descriptions focused on her crying after the rescue and receiving help from residents.

A childhood experience shaped his response

Rizky said his decision to help was connected to something that had happened to him as a child: he had once nearly been swept away by water himself. Hearing that a child was in the channel brought him into a situation he recognised personally.

He described the Palembang rescue as the fourth time he had helped someone who had fallen into water. Speaking about earlier incidents, he also recalled rescues in the Swadaya area and in Pagar Alam.

Rizky, explaining where he had previously helped people in danger in the water, said:

I have also carried out a rescue in Pagar Alam. Here, it has already been twice.

His recollections explain why residents' calls prompted such a quick response. This time, however, he still had to establish where the child was, check the space beneath the bridge and search without being able to see her.

Public attention brings a possible disaster agency job

Rizky's actions attracted attention beyond the neighbourhood after the rescue video spread online. Alex Adrian, the head of Bukit Kecil district, posted a video of a visit to Rizky and the child.

Rizky was reportedly offered work with Palembang's Regional Disaster Management Agency, known by its Indonesian abbreviation BPBD. The agency handles local disaster management, giving the reported offer a direct connection to the kind of emergency in which he had just intervened.

Rizky thanked Palembang Mayor Ratu Dewa in response to the offer. He said he needed to consider it and discuss it with his family before deciding. No decision or starting date was announced.

The details that explain the narrow escape

The bridge, the pipes and the remaining air space each mattered to the rescue. The bridge concealed the child from people above. The pipes gave her something to hold. The gap above the water allowed her to breathe until Rizky reached her.

Rain had raised the water level, while the current created concern that she could be carried farther along the drain. Residents responded to that possibility by watching other crossings, even as Rizky searched beneath the bridge where she had disappeared.

The child emerged because Rizky found her and managed to bring her through the water to an exit. His description also preserves the part that was difficult to see in a circulating video: the darkness beneath the structure, the sound of crying and the need to make another attempt after reaching her.

Key Points

• Rizky Farizal, 24, rescued a girl aged six from beneath a drainage bridge in Palembang on November 14, 2026.
• The child reportedly slipped while trying to retrieve a sandal after rain had raised the water level.
• She spent an estimated seven minutes beneath the bridge, holding pipes and breathing through a gap above the water.
• Rizky located her by hearing her cries and searching by touch, then brought her out after two attempts.
• Residents watched other bridges in case the current carried her farther away.
• Rizky was reportedly offered work with Palembang's disaster management agency and was considering it with his family.