Hopes of rescuing a three-year-old girl who fell in to a drain on Wednesday are diminishing, as rescuers temporarily called off the search operation due to bad light.
Alisha, the daughter of a day-labourer, was playing with other children on the banks of a drain in Kamalabad near Chaklala Cantonment Board when she fell in at around 4pm, according to local people and rescue workers.
Rescue 1122 divers stopped searching for the girl after the sun had completely set, but locals were still trying to locate the toddler when this report was filed.
“Alisha’s sister and a friend of hers said she fell in the drain while they were playing near it,” said Alisha’s father, Muhammad Abbas.
“Most of the people living around here are poor. We always worry as the banks of the drain are not protected,” said the beleaguered father.
Rescue 1122 Rawalpindi Spokesperson Saifur Rehman said the rescue team had to give up the search at sunset.
“At night, visibility underwater is very low,” he explained.
Rehman said they had used all available equipment including nets and diving suits in the search effort, while adding that the search would resume in the morning if the girl is not found.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 5th, 2012.
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