Tears and despair: Three children drown in pool of rain water, two missing
They were bathing in rain water that had collected in a deep ditch where kiln workers would store bricks
PHOTO: EXPRESS
FAISALABAD:
Bodies of three children, who drowned while swimming in rain water that had collected in a deep ditch at a brick kiln in in Chak 229-RB near the Makkoana-Khurarianwala Bypass, on Monday, have been recovered. The bodies of two other children have not been found yet. One of the children was rescued and taken to Allied Hospital where doctors said his condition was critical.
People in the area said that the ditch was 14-feet wide and 10-feet deep. Rain water had collected in it and the kiln owner had not cordoned it off or pumped out the water.
“The weather was hot and a group of children gathered at the ditch,” an elderly resident of the area told The Express Tribune. The kiln workers were off for Eidul Azha. Several children jumped in the pool to bathe while the younger ones stood at the bank. Of the children who jumped in the pool, Talib, Kiran and Yaseen drowned. The bodies of two others have not yet been found. Taj, son of Jaffar, was rescued. “We watched our friends drown one by one,” one of the children, Muhammad Aslam, said through his sobs.
Hearing their friends’ screams, the children standing on the edge of the pool ran to find help. Some passers-by called up Rescue-1122 and a team arrived at the scene 20 minutes later. “By that time, it was too late,” the elderly resident said.
Rescue-1122 District Emergency Officer In-charge Ehtisham Anjum told The Express Tribune that a team had rushed to the site as soon as they received information. He said the Rescue team recovered the bodies of five-year-old Talib Idrees, six-year-old Kiran and eight-year-old Yaseen Jaffar. He said they were looking for the bodies of two other children who drowned in the ditch.
After the incident, scores of residents of the area staged a demonstration and shouted slogans against the brick kiln owner for not taking protective measures. They demanded that the police arrest him for the murder of their children.
DCO Noorul Amin Mengal has constituted a committee of four officials to look into the incident. They have been directed to submit a report on the incident in 24 hours.
Mengal also visited the site of the incident and supervised the rescue operation.
Jaranwala Assistant Commissioner, Zaheer Anwar Jappa, WASA DMD Chaudhry Shoukat Mahmood, Jaranwala TMO Raja Irshad, Civil Defence DO Mazhar Ali and several other officers also visited the site and supervised the rescue efforts.
Mengal expressed grief over the incident and offered condolences to the families that had lost children in the incident. He said strict action would be taken against those responsible for the incident.
He told them that he had requested the government to approve financial assistance for the bereaved families.
The committee probing the incident includes an additional district collector, the Jaranwala superintendent, the health EDO and a Civil Defence officer.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 29th, 2015.
Bodies of three children, who drowned while swimming in rain water that had collected in a deep ditch at a brick kiln in in Chak 229-RB near the Makkoana-Khurarianwala Bypass, on Monday, have been recovered. The bodies of two other children have not been found yet. One of the children was rescued and taken to Allied Hospital where doctors said his condition was critical.
People in the area said that the ditch was 14-feet wide and 10-feet deep. Rain water had collected in it and the kiln owner had not cordoned it off or pumped out the water.
“The weather was hot and a group of children gathered at the ditch,” an elderly resident of the area told The Express Tribune. The kiln workers were off for Eidul Azha. Several children jumped in the pool to bathe while the younger ones stood at the bank. Of the children who jumped in the pool, Talib, Kiran and Yaseen drowned. The bodies of two others have not yet been found. Taj, son of Jaffar, was rescued. “We watched our friends drown one by one,” one of the children, Muhammad Aslam, said through his sobs.
Hearing their friends’ screams, the children standing on the edge of the pool ran to find help. Some passers-by called up Rescue-1122 and a team arrived at the scene 20 minutes later. “By that time, it was too late,” the elderly resident said.
Rescue-1122 District Emergency Officer In-charge Ehtisham Anjum told The Express Tribune that a team had rushed to the site as soon as they received information. He said the Rescue team recovered the bodies of five-year-old Talib Idrees, six-year-old Kiran and eight-year-old Yaseen Jaffar. He said they were looking for the bodies of two other children who drowned in the ditch.
After the incident, scores of residents of the area staged a demonstration and shouted slogans against the brick kiln owner for not taking protective measures. They demanded that the police arrest him for the murder of their children.
DCO Noorul Amin Mengal has constituted a committee of four officials to look into the incident. They have been directed to submit a report on the incident in 24 hours.
Mengal also visited the site of the incident and supervised the rescue operation.
Jaranwala Assistant Commissioner, Zaheer Anwar Jappa, WASA DMD Chaudhry Shoukat Mahmood, Jaranwala TMO Raja Irshad, Civil Defence DO Mazhar Ali and several other officers also visited the site and supervised the rescue efforts.
Mengal expressed grief over the incident and offered condolences to the families that had lost children in the incident. He said strict action would be taken against those responsible for the incident.
He told them that he had requested the government to approve financial assistance for the bereaved families.
The committee probing the incident includes an additional district collector, the Jaranwala superintendent, the health EDO and a Civil Defence officer.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 29th, 2015.