Missing minor’s body recovered from manhole

Four-year-old Ayub went missing after he left home to buy something from a local shop

PAKPATTAN:

The body of a minor who was reported missing was recovered from a manhole on Saturday. The four-year-old boy died after falling into the open manhole.

Four-year-old Ayub from Ganj Shakr colony went missing after he left home to buy something from the local shop.

Due to darkness, he fell down into an open gutter. His relatives tried to find him for hours and his father reported his disappearance to police.

Authorities participated in a search operation and checked open manholes in the area, but failed to find him. Police called sweepers from the Municipal committee to continue the search. They eventually found the victim’s body in the gutter on Saturday.

Chief Officer Municipal Committee Pakpattan Naveed Sailani stated that a local resident, identified as M Iqbal, removed manhole covers in the area to clean the gutters, however he failed to cover them after work was completed. Sailani stated that action would be taken against him on behalf of the Municipal Committee.

Open manholes continue to pose a safety risk to citizens across Punjab. In March of this year, a two-year-old child fell to his death in an open manhole in front of his house in Model Town. The boy’s parents said that the child had gone out of the house to play and fell into an open manhole.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 9^th, 2023.