Two children drown in Indus river

Body of one victim retrieved, other missing

DERA GAZI KHAN:

In a bid to escape intense heat, two children drowned while bathing in the Indus River near Haji Kaman vil- lage on Saturday. Two other boys were rescued by local divers and rescue teams.

Upon receiving the alert, the Rescue 1122 operation team reached the site and started a search for the vic-tims. The body of a child, named Muhammad Saqib, was retrieved.

The search operation has been halted due to dark-ness. The rescue sources said the operation has been halted due to darkness will resume in the morning. The funeral prayer of the deceased child was offered in the ancestral area and he was laid to rest in the local cemetery.

Meanwhile, in cities and rural areas, there has been a surge in heat intensity with the temperature soar-ing to 47 degrees Celsius, a record high. The met office forecast 49 degrees Celsius for Sunday (today).

In the suburban area of Taunsa Sharif and on the outskirts of Dera Ghazi Khan, a thunderstorm moving at 80 kilometres per hour provided relief from the intense heat but also wreaked havoc.

The strong winds and heavy rainfall resulted in collapsed roofs of several shops and buildings, dam-aging numerous houses and shops’ solar systems.

While several trees were uprooted, fortunately, no casualties have been reported from any specific area.

On the outskirts of Dera Ghazi Khan, in the suburban area of Tonsa Sharif, heavy thunderstorm with rainfall at a speed of 80 kilometres per hour not only broke the intensity of the heat but also caused severe damage.

The rapid winds and heavy rain led to the collapse of the roofs of numerous shops and buildings, with dozens of houses and shops’ solar systems also being destroyed, causing significant losses to the residents.

The fast-moving storm also caused several trees to fall, but no reports of any casualties have been received from any particular area.