Child lost in drain found dead

Tragedy renews concerns over open drains, inadequate drainage maintenance

RAWALPINDI:

The body of seven-year-old Visal Farhad, who was swept into a sewage drain near IJP Road's Kacha Stop during heavy rainfall earlier this week, was recovered from Nullah Leh near Gowalmandi Bridge on Friday, bringing a tragic end to an intensive three-day search operation carried out by Rescue 1122 and other emergency agencies.

Rescue personnel retrieved the body from the drainage channel and handed it over to police. Following identification and completion of legal formalities, the body was handed over to the bereaved family for burial. The incident left relatives and residents of the area in deep mourning.

The child went missing at around 6:30pm on June 17 after reportedly falling into an open section of a sewage drain while playing outside his home near IJP Road during torrential rain. Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif took notice of the incident and directed Rescue 1122 and all relevant departments to continue the search operation throughout the night until the child was found.

Responding to the directive, 41 rescuers from Rescue 1122, assisted by personnel from other government departments, remained engaged in a continuous search operation from Wednesday evening until Friday evening.

District Emergency Officer Engineer Sibghatullah established a rescue command post at the scene to supervise the operation. According to Incident Commander Muhammad Hamza, four specialised rescue teams were deployed at different locations to conduct round-the-clock searches.

Rescuers carried out line searches, manual searches, scuba-assisted operations and extensive inspections of the drainage network. Excavators provided by the Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA) were also used to remove debris, mud and accumulated waste obstructing the drain.

Rescue officials said the child had fallen into an open portion of the sewage drain within a residential street, which later passed underground before connecting with a larger drain near IJP Road approximately 700 metres away. The rescue teams thoroughly searched the entire stretch between the point of the incident and the main drainage channel on five separate occasions.

Officials acknowledged that the operation was severely hampered by large quantities of rubbish, silt and solid waste clogging the drain. They noted that despite the approaching monsoon season, inadequate cleaning of drainage channels in the Kacha Stop area significantly complicated rescue efforts.

On Friday evening, shortly after Maghrib prayers, passers-by spotted a child's body trapped in debris in Nullah Leh near Gowalmandi Bridge and immediately alerted police and Rescue 1122.