Two children drown in rainwater pit in Karachi's Gulistan-e-Jauhar

Two minor boys drowned on Monday while bathing in a pit filled with rainwater outside an under-construction building in Karachi's Gulistan-e-Jauhar area. A third child managed to escape unscathed. 

The deceased were identified as 10-year-old Mureed Hussain, son of Abdul Muneer, and 11-year-old Haris, son of Abdul Ghaffar, both residents of Bhittaiabad. The deceased were shifted to Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) by Edhi Ambulance for medico-legal formalities and later handed over to their families.

The boys were playing in accumulated rainwater, which had gathered in a pit dug up a while ago by labourers aiming to lay the foundation for the site. The incident occurred near Block 9, Magsi Chowk, within the limits of Malir Cantonment Police Station. 

Malir Cantonment SHO Agha Abdul Rasheed said that the three children were bathing in the pit when the incident took place. Mureed’s brother, Ghulam Hussain, managed to escape unharmed.

Read: Apartment building sinks in Jauhar

This is not the first time this year that a citizen has lost thier life in an excavation pit. In May, alleged negligence by the Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA) claimed the life of a teenage boy on Dhoke Kala Khan Service Road, where a 17-feet-deep pit dug for a water tank had been left uncovered for over six months.

The victim, identified as 17-year-old Rehan Masih slipped and fell into the pit while playing near a cricket ground adjacent to the site.

Read More: Floodwaters rekindle controversy over Saadi Town and Saadi Garden

The trench, dug for a water tank to serve union councils 21, 22, 23, and 24, remains incomplete due to a reported lack of funds. According to locals, the pit measures approximately 17-19 feet in depth, 30 feet in length, and four feet in width. It was accumulated with filthy rainwater and had become a breeding ground for mosquitoes.

On the day of the incident, Masih was fielding during a game of cricket when he accidentally slipped into the pit. Due to its depth, he did not survive. Locals retrieved the body with difficulty and sent it for post-mortem to the District Headquarters Teaching Hospital. The deceased was handed over to the family after medico-legal formalities for last rites.

Residents reported frequent minor incidents at the site and said they had raised concerns before. The fatal accident sparked widespread outrage, with locals staging protests against WASA and demanded immediate action.