Two drown, three rescued as van plunges into Khanpur Lake
A view of Khanpur Dam, which is a major source of drinking and irrigation water (right). PHOTOS: MUHAMMAD SADAQAT/FILE
A picnic ended in tragedy when two members of a family died while three were rescued as a passenger van skidded off the road and fell in to the Khanpur Dam lake on Sunday.
The Rescue 1122 teams recovered and shifted the bodies to Khanpur Tehsil Headquarters (THQ) Hospital.
The rescue workers said that the passengers were friends and relatives and had come from Faisalabad to Khanpur Dam for excursion.
According to workers of Rescue 1122 the driver of the ill-fated van lost control of the wheel due to slippery road and it swerved off the road and control and plunged into Khanpur Dam Lake near Purana Khanpur spot.
Read Khanpur Dam reservoir filled to brim
Rescue 1122 Service control room received a distress call and teams were immediately rushed to the site and the divers started searching for the victims.
Three people including Noushad Qamar 33, Raja Asif 47 and Sahir Bibi 30 were rescued, however, Muhammad Abdullah 26, and Muhammad Ilyas 25 drowned in the accident.
The bodies were shifted to Khampur Tehsil Headquarters (THQ) Hospital. Police handed over the bodies to the families after legal formalities.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 22nd, 2021.