Fatal accidents: Boy drowns, another missing as boat capsizes

In another incident, two girls drowned in a pond.

SUKKUR:

Four children drowned on Friday in two separate incidents near Sukkur Barrage and Kumb in Khairpur.

Residents of Imdad Mirani village, Kharipur, had gone near gate No.32 of Sukkur Barrage in three boats to pay their respects to Hazrat Khawaja Khizar. They villagers were returning after offering prayers at the site when one of the boats, carrying 18 people, hit a pier of the barrage near gate No.45 and overturned.

All its occupants fell in the river. The men in the other two boats jumped into the water to rescue them and Edhi volunteers also arrived at the scene.

The volunteers managed to save 16 people, including 30-year-old Mira, 25-year-old Rasheeda and 15-year-old Jamali. A seven-year-old boy, Muneer, was rushed to a private hospital where he died. A six-year-old boy, Shahmir, is still missing and divers are trying to find his body. It had not been found by the time this report was filed.

A religious scholar, Mufti Muhammad Ibrahim Qadri, explained that Hazrat Khizar is a spiritual figure who, according to a tradition, is still alive. “People believe that he resides near forests and rivers and he has the power to grant people’s wishes,” he said. He felt that the people were mistaken in their belief that Hazrat Khizar could only be found near forests and rivers.

In a separate incident, two girls drowned in a pond in Jagir Ali Akbar, Khairpur. Eight-year-old Sakina and six-year-old Azra were playing near the pond when they slipped and fell in it.

The villagers heard them scream and rushed to the scene but the girls had drowned by then.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 19^th, 2013.