Motorcyclist drowns in Faisalabad canal
A young man was drowned after his motorcycle fell into a canal in Faisalabad on Saturday.
police said 18-year-old Zameer Ali, a resident of Chak No 357GB, in the area of Rodala village was riding a motorcycle with his friend Usman Ali, when the two-wheeler lost control due to high speed and eventually plunged into the canal.
As a result of the incident, both motorcyclists fell in deep water of the canal. People present on the spot informed Rescue 1122 about the incident. Divers of the emergency service reached the spot on receiving information and rescued Usman alive and shifted him to a hospital for medical treatment. However, Zameer was initially not found in the canal. Later, a search operation was conducted in the canal after which Zameer’s body was found and handed over to Rodala police. Police officials said that the two friends were riding a motorcycle when their vehicle fell into a canal due to overspeeding, killing Zameer on the spot.
The incidents of drowning have surged across Punjab. On June 13, three persons, who went to the city’s canals for bathing, drowned to death in separate incidents.
As per details, a 28-year-old man named Nabil Jutt, the son of a driver named Abdul Razzaq, went to bathe in the canal with his friends. While bathing, he drowned in the canal and was killed on the spot. The victim drowned in the canal located in Sandal Bar’s area.
On May 27, four members of a family from Hussainabad neighborhood of Khushab drowned after their motorcycle skidded into a canal. Reportedly, the victims included a one-month-old girl, two women and a man.
On May 10, Rescue 1122 teams retrieved 11 bodies out of the 12 members of a family who went missing after a van carrying them fell into the Maisli link canal in Mian Channu of Khanewal district.
The bodies were shifted to two nearby hospitals from where they were handed over to relatives after completion of legal formalities.
The van fell into the canal after hitting a motorcycle coming from the opposite direction at a bridge. The deceased included women and children.
Earlier this year, 13 people were killed and at least eight others sustained injuries when a passenger van fell into a canal near the provincial capital.
Residents had tried to rescue the drowning passengers on a self-help basis. They had also called Rescue 1122, whose divers later fished out the dead and rescued some passengers.
The province witnessed several such incidents over the years owing to reckless driving, dangerous roads, landslides and bad weather. However, the authorities had reportedly been working to decrease such accidents with improved infrastructure and awareness.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 27th, 2020.