Selfies thrill but kill: Two days later, body of drowned man still missing

Asif fell into a river while trying to take a selfie on Wednesday night

SUKKUR: Rescue teams are still on the lookout for the body of a man who drowned in River Indus River while trying to take a selfie.

Asif Jameel Joseph had been trying to take a picture of himself and his wife while sitting on a fence at Lansdowne Bridge near Sukkur on Wednesday night when he lost his balance and fell into the river.

Asif, a resident of Christian Colony, New Yard Rohri, was a railway employee and worked as a dispenser at Railway Hospital, Rohri. His father, Jameel Joseph, is a Sukkur Electric Power Company employee and worked at the grid station in Rohri. Speaking to The Express Tribune, Jameel said his son was a lively person and used to take an active part in religious and social gatherings.



“On the day of incident, I was in Rahim Yar Khan and at about 9:30pm received a phone call from my other son who told me about the incident,” he told in a choked voice. “I rushed to Sukkur and instead of coming home, came directly to the river where rescuers were searching for Asif,” he recalled. Thanking the divers of the Pakistan Navy, he said, they have been making all possible efforts to find the body but have not succeeded yet. He also thanked the Sukkur Barrage authorities for placing a net in front of the gates, so that the body does not slip into the downstream.

Jameel, with tears in his eyes, recalled Asif’s wedding day six years ago. “Asif was so happy on that day and danced. His first child was a boy who died within couple of months of birth and now he has left a four-year-old daughter to mourn his death,” he said. Jameel said Asif’s wife Afsar Ruth has been struck hard by the tragedy. “I have tried to talk to her but she just cries and says nothing,” he said.

“I have four sons and four daughters, out of which Asif is now no more. His death has shattered me and now it is my strongest desire to see his body retrieved from the water,” he said. “The Navy divers are still trying their best to fish out the body and my sons and other relatives are waiting there,” said Jameel. “He was so fond of taking photographs and often used to take his wife for outings but no one knew that he would not return home this time,” said the distraught father.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 7^th, 2017.