Water accidents: Three drown in river, stream

Bodies recovered.

GUJRANWALA/ WAZIRABAD:

Three people drowned in a river and a stream in separate incidents on Tuesday.

In Wazirabad, Rescue officials said that a 23-year-old man, later identified as Jamshed Ejaz, drowned in Palkhu stream where it meets River Chenab near Khanki Head Works. They said Ejaz had gone for a swim. He had inhaled some water. Rescuers recovered the body after four hours.

Elsewhere, Rescue 1122 officials recovered the body of a three-year-old boy who had drowned in the Palkhu stream near Daulat Nagar village. The family said the boy, Abu Bakr, was playing in the street with other children some of them went towards the drain. They said Abu Bakr fell into the water while running after a ball. Some boys informed his parents. By the time help arrived, the boy had died.

Two men, 28-year-old Ehsanullah and 18-year-old Yasir, drowned in the River Chenab in the last week. Ehsanullah’s body was recovered after several hours, while Yasir’s body could not be found.

In Gujranwala, a grade 6 student drowned on Tuesday while swimming in the canal with some class fellows. Rescue officials said that Aquib Butt, 13, a resident of Gondlanwala, went swimming with friends after school. His friends said he had lost his balance and gone under. The body was recovered from Noorpur Chehlan.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 17^th, 2013.