Rain trouble: Four killed in Gujranwala house roof collapse

Three people injured in DG Khan as the roof of a mud house caves in.

DG KHAN/ SIALKOT/ GUJRANWALA:

Four people were reported to have been killed and several others injured in rain-related accidents on Tuesday. 

In Gujranwala, four members of a family were killed and eight others were injured when a two-storey house collapsed due to heavy rainfall.
The injured, including five children, were taken to a hospital.
Rescue 1122 officials said the roof of Abdul Majeed’s house in Zafar Colony in Ferozwala came down early morning. They said some guests were visiting him when the accident happened.
They said 12 people were trapped underneath the rubble. Before professional help arrived, some neighbours tried to get the family out.
It took rescuers three hours to pull them all out. Four of them, including Majeed, were dead. The deceased children were identified as Zain, 10; Haider, 9; and Eesha, 4. Eight others were severely injured and taken to Civil Hospital, where doctors said that the condition of three children- Ghulam Dastageer 14; Hasan,7; and Nadeem, 4-  was critical. Doctors said all three had head injuries. Rescuers said continuous rain hampered the rescue operation.



Mud house roof collapse

In Dera Ghazi Khan, three people were injured when the roof of a mud house collapsed due to heavy rain.

The incident occurred in Basti Machiwala along River Indus. Rescue officials said the structure of the house was weak and could not sustain in continuous rain.

They said the house was owned by a fisher man.

The residents remained trapped underneath the debris for three hours before help arrived and were taken to the district trauma centre. Doctors said they were all out of danger.  One of them, identified as Faisal, had six fractures in his arms.

Rescuers said four children had escaped the incident as they had stepped out of the house to play shortly before the roof came down. They said the mud roof had softened due to rainwater that had accumulated on it.

Three injured in motorcycle accident

In Sialkot, three men were injured when a motorcycle skidded in the rain.

Rescue officials said Farman Ali, 23, was riding a motorcycle when he lost control of it and skidded off the road in Rangpura. As he slipped, the motorcycle ran into two pedestrians walling on the roadside. The three injured men were taken to a hospital, where doctors said they were out of danger.

A man and an elderly woman were injured in Mianapura when they fell off the bicycle. Passers-by said the man had lost control of the cycle and slipped after running into a pothole he did not see on account of rainwater.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 10^th, 2013.