Four kids, pregnant mother die in roof collapse incident

A pregnant woman her four children have been died in Chak town of district Shikarpur after the house collapsed late Monday night.

Nizakat Sethar, the father of the children, also got serious injuries while his oldest son survived.

Tehmina and her children, including Ali Abbas, Ali Waris, Bakhtawar and Samina were sleeping in their room when the upper portion of the house near their home fell down.

Nizakat, who was sleeping outside the room, got spinal injuries and was said to be out of danger. His oldest son, Ali Raza, luckily survived as he was staying at his aunt's home in the neighbourhood.

The incident took place at about 4am. The residents of the Chak reached the spot and managed to dig out the bodies and transported to the Rural Health Center (RHC), the only nearby government health facility. "No one was there to provide immediate help to the injured persons," said a local resident, Abdul Majeed.

Speaking to The Express Tribune, Town Committee's nominated Chairman Dr Naveed Mahar said that the all the persons died before they could reach to the nearby hospital located in Sukkur, some 30km from his town. "The family received serious injuries and lack of medical facilities was another reason of these deaths," Dr Mahar commented.

The bodies till filing of this report were not buried as some family members of Sethar were in Karachi and were unable to reach Chak Town due to protests at different spots by rain affectees.

The total population of the town is estimated about 20,000 and over 30 per cent houses seemed unsafe for families to live in. "It is even unsafe to remain outside the damaged house as it is raining continuously," Dr Mahar briefed.

The fear of roof collapses prevailed in the town and nearby areas as the news of Sethar's house circulated through social media.

"It has been raining for last 20 days and everyone is disturbed and under immense mental stress after this sad incident," Javed Ahmed, another resident commented. He said that the government and its machinery seemed helpless in this difficult times.

He said that people wanted to move to safer places but, he added, where they should go. "There is no safe place left and people living in low lying areas and near to the Indus River are coming to major cities," he explained, saying the situation was very critical for those who have already lost their loved ones and homes.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 23^rd, 2022.