Deadly water: Picnic turns into nightmare as 2 drown

Three students had entered the Ravi River to take pictures.

FAISALABAD:

Two young men drowned in the River Ravi and a third was rescued on Saturday at Mari Patan.Tandlianwala police said the three had arrived there for a picnic.

“Shehreyar, 20, Ali Raza, 18, Fahad, 16, came from Okara to picnic at the bank of the River Ravi. They were all first year students of Pharmacy College Sahiwal,” police said.

“They stood in shallow water and started taking pictures. Ali Raza slipped and was carried away. Shehreyar and Fahad also jumped after him to save him. However, they themselves were swept away by the current,” they said.

“Some passers by rescued Fahad. They called Rescue 1122 to look for the other two. The 1122 divers tried but failed to find Shehreyar and Raza. The rescue operation is still going on,” he said.

The families and sympathisers of the missing young men staged a protest demonstration against the local administration and held them responsible for the incident.

The protesters also staged a sit-in at Mari Patan. Traffic there remained suspended for hours.

The protesters said that the young men could have been saved if officials were present at the flood relief camp set-up in the area. “The camp staff should have prohibited the people from going into flood waters. They could have rescued the boys when they were drowning,” the protesters said.  They also chanted slogans against the administration and demanded action against the officials responsible for the incident.

A Tandlianwala police team reached the area and assured the protesters that action would be taken against the officials found negligent.

The demonstrators then dispersed.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 14^th, 2014.