Tragic incident: Five children killed as roof caves in

Three others injured, all were under seven-years-old; four killed in motorway accident.

RAWALPINDI: Five children were killed and three injured when the roof of a mud house in Rawalpindi collapsed on Wednesday, said a rescue official.

The incident occurred in the Dhoke Lalyal area near Airport Road, where the mud house collapsed and killed five children — three of whom were brothers and two were their cousins — said the official.

The deceased, identified Nadeem, 2, Nadia, 4, Sadia, 4, Habib, 6, and Waheed, 7, were shifted to Benazir Bhutto Hospital (BBH).

Investigation officer Muhammad Arif said Waheed Khan, the father of the three boys, was the tenant and hails from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. He had been living in the house for five years. “Khan is poor labourer and living on rent. He was not at home when it happened,” said the police officer.

In May, thirty children were rescued from the debris of a collapsed tuition centre near Humak Town.

Four killed on motorway

In a separate incident, four people were killed and three injured near the Burhan interchange on the motorway after a tyre on a passenger van burst, said the motorway police.

According to the motorway police, a passenger van (LES-5557), was going to Peshawar from Rawalpindi when the tyre of the vehicle burst near the interchange and the van careened into a ravine. The deceased were identified as Obaidullah Jan, 35, Muhammad Zaman Khan, 45, Zafar Ali, 50, and Sajid Rashid, 40. The dead and injured were shifted to Civil Hospital Hasanabadal and DHQ Hospital, Rawalpindi.

Hasanabadal Police Assistant Sub Inspector Waqas Rashid confirmed the incident and identified Jan as the driver of the van.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 12^th, 2014.