Tragic: Four drown as rickshaw falls in river

LAHORE: Four people went missing and three others were rescued after a rickshaw fell into River Ravi in Faislabad’s Pattan Sheraza area on Saturday. Rescue 1122 officials said eight people, including the driver, were on board when the rickshaw fell into the river. One-year-old Zainab, five-year-old Musharraf and 22-year-old Najma were fished out. Witnesses said Pathani Bibi threw her one-year-old daughter out of the window before the rickshaw overturned. The child escaped with minor injuries. Rescue 1122 officials said Najma and Musharraf jumped out of the rickshaw as it was falling. They said rickshaw driver Allahyar, 32, managed to swim to safety but four others, including two-year-old Qamar, three-year-old Zain, six-year-old Mehwish, and 25-year-old Pathani Bibi drowned. Rescue officials were looking for them till report was filed.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 18^th, 2014.