Three children drown in twin cities nullahs

Two others rescued but fighting for their lives

RAWALPINDI/ ISLAMABAD:

At least three children drowned in separate incidents in the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad during the three holidays of Eidul Azha.

On Tuesday, three children drowned while bathing in a nullah within the limits of Noon police station in the federal capital.

According to police, rescue teams saved one of the three children after a long struggle, while 11-year-old Hashir and 10-year-old Adil drowned before they could be retrieved from the water stream.

Police said that a report of the accident has been lodged.

The bodies of the two deceased boys have been handed over to the families after completing legal and medical formalities.

Rescue 1122 spokesman said that water had accumulated in the pit and it had turned into a pond after heavy downpour.

In a separate incident, an 8-year-old boy and a 10-year-old girl were discovered alive after Rescue 1122 Rawalpindi conducted a thorough search.

Sadly, one child drowned and died. The girl is in a critical condition.

The twin cities experienced intermittent rainfall during the three days of Eid. After 30 minutes of light rain on the second day of Eid, clouds started to pour heavily, leaving the city in shambles.

With rainfall in sight, the Islamabad administration, WASA, and Rescue services were already on high alert.

According to the district administration and flood monitoring officials, the twin cities received the heaviest rainfall from 11.30am to 2.30pm during the three hours due to which water accumulated on highways and in low lying areas. As per the official data, 30mm of rain in Bokra, 26mm in Chaklala, 15mm in Shamsabad, 12mm in Golra 14 H2, and 7mm in Saidpur was recorded.

MD WASA, Muhammad Tanveer, personally oversaw the draining operations.

WASA MD Rawalpindi Muhammad Tanveer shared that a total of 25mm rainfall was recorded in the twin cities. For further analysis, continuous monitoring was being carried out.

Additionally, the water level of Nullah Leh was observed to be normal at 5 feet at Kataria and 4 feet at Gawalmandi Bridge.

Furthermore, it was claimed that the teams were well prepared to handle any situation.

Rescue teams will be present at Airport Road, Committee Chowk underpass, Liaqat Bagh, Javed Colony, Dhok Khabba, Sadiqabad, Satellite Town, Jamia Masjid Road, and Murree Road as well.

In another occurrence, an 8-year-old drowned after falling into a sewage drain while bathing in the rain at Range Road Shale Valley, who was rescued by Rescue 1122 from the same street on the third day of Eid.

Similarly, another incident of a child being drowned in a drain in Khatana village on Adiala Road was reported.

After a long three-hour search, Rescue 1122 Rawalpindi found the child alive but in critical condition.