Two-year-old rescued from sewer in Karachi after 15-hour ordeal

Zohan, exposed to severe mosquito bites, battled for survival in city’s Shah Latif Town

KARACHI:

A two-year-old child who had gone missing from Karachi’s Shah Latif Town was found in a semi-conscious state in a sewer after 15 hours on Wednesday.

The child, identified as Zohan, battled for survival while exposed to severe mosquito bites during this traumatic experience in Zafar Town area. Zohan's father, Sadaqat Khan, said that his son Zohan went missing on Saturday.

After discovering his son was missing, Khan, along with relatives, neighbours, and the local residents, searched for Zohan day and night throughout the surrounding areas, including Zafar Town and Gaddafi Town.

Despite announcements in mosques and exhaustive efforts, there was no sign of the missing child, he added.

He said that after reviewing CCTV footage from the location where Zohan disappeared that a breakthrough emerged.

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The footage revealed that a nine-year-old child named Abdullah had been present with Zohan at the time of his disappearance.

Khan said that Abdullah had come as a guest to someone's house in the neighbourhood from Gulshan-e-Maymar.

Upon strict questioning by Abdullah's maternal uncle, it was revealed that Abdullah had pushed Zohan into a sewer.

Abdullah's maternal uncle and other concerned individuals rushed to the sewer, where they discovered Zohan in a semi-conscious state, having endured approximately 15 hours in the grim environment.

Khan said that his son had suffered mosquito bites during his time in the sewer. He said that there was no water in the sewer in which his son was found, but there was filth.

Khan, who returned to Pakistan from Malaysia in 2019 and is currently unemployed, expressed his gratitude to his relatives, friends, and the local community for their support during the search for his son.

Zohan, the youngest of Sadaqat Khan's nine children, including six daughters and three sons, is now in a much better condition after his traumatic ordeal.