Swimming excursion: Death toll reaches six as three more drown in Korang

Admin encourage parents to educate children on risks of swimming in streams.

ISLAMABAD:

In a swimming excursion gone awry, three youngsters drowned in the Korang Nullah in the city outskirts on Friday. The death toll from drowning incidents in Islamabad reached six for May, with summer just having begun.

In the latest incident, a boy went swimming in the river near Japan Road in Loi Bher along with his two friends after college. All three were students of USWA College Sihala.

Muhammad Raza, 17, jumped into the river where the water was deep and water flow was rapid, said a police official. “He probably hit an underwater ditch and called his two friends for help when he resurfaced.”

Police said his friends — Wahid Hussain, 16, and Muhammad Kazam, 17 — jumped in after him, but also drowned. The three boys were spotted by passersby who called local people for help.

“Some of the locals dived in and pulled out the three bodies,” said a police official. They were identified with the help of their college uniforms and the USWA management was informed. The bodies were taken to Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims).

Loi Bher Police Station House Officer (SHO) Khalid said they were called by the college principal after the bodies were shifted to Pims. The Sihala police were also called to the site of the incident. The police were uncertain whose jurisdiction the area fell under.

The three bodies were placed in the Pims mortuary and their families were informed about their deaths, the Loi Bher police said. Raza and Kazam were from Skardu and Hussain was from Parachinar. They were living in a private hostel on Japan Road in Sihala.

Earlier this month, a medical college student drowned in Rawal Dam while two teenagers drowned in Korang Nullah. They all had gone swimming and got trapped in fast-flowing waters.

A police official raised concerns over the lack of security measures taken by the city administration to prevent people from swimming.

A senior city administration official, however, claimed warning signs have been affixed at different bridges and places frequented by people for swimming and bathing. “But people always find new places,” said the official, adding that parents should take care in educating their children on the hazards of such activities.

He said it is unfeasible to fence the entire length of the rivers, streams and nullahs in the outskirts of the twin cities.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 26^th, 2012.