The mother of M Davadharshini, 12, who is still missing following the suspension bridge collapse tragedy in Kuala Dipang in Kampar on Monday night, said she was hesitant about letting her daughter join the camping trip with her schoolmates.

R Nagartha, in her 40s, said Davadharshini was the only girl among her three children and did not expect such a tragedy to happen as her daughter had joined camping trips before.

"She is not only a brilliant student but also a good and obedient daughter. I relented because she had been on such trips before," she said while trying very hard to hold back her tears.

NONE In the incident, one pupil drowned while Davadharshini and another pupil went 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. The two are still missing.

The pupils were among 298 pupils from 64 primary schools in Tronoh, Batu Gajah and Kampar enlisted to participate in the camp organised by the Kinta Selatan District Education Department.

Meanwhile, R Chandra, an aunt of V Diryasree, 11, the other pupil still missing, said she could not believe it when she received a call from a relative about the tragedy.

She said she rushed down from Penang on hearing the news but was saddened that till now there had been no information if Diryashree was safe.

Kampar police chief Supt Abdul Aziz Salleh told reporters the search operation for the two missing pupils was temporarily halted at around 6pm yesterday because of heavy rain and strong currents and that it would resume as soon as the situation permitted.

- Bernama