BAHAWALPUR, Sept 14: Nine people drowned and six went missing when a tractor trolley carrying farm workers slipped into deep waters while crossing the Sutlej river bed on Friday evening near Chishtian, more than 100km from here.

The victims include 12 women and three children who were returning to their homes after picking cotton along the river in Shahi Gharbi area falling in the jurisdiction of Shehr Fareed police station, Chishtian tehsil.

The police confirmed that 15 people were missing. It said people living on either side of the otherwise dry river crossed it frequently through its bed in the absence of a bridge. This year the river received water after monsoon rains. Still there are some dry patches in the river which are used by the people as passages.

About the Friday incident, police said the tractor trolley slipped into deep waters while negotiating a narrow passage between the flooded river. It said nine bodies had been fished out so far.

The names of the dead and the missing were not yet known.

PUNJNAD: 14: In order to facilitate bus commuters, transporters have arranged light vehicles to cross the dilapidated bridge over Panjand Headworks.

Basher Abbasi, headworks executive engineer, has allowed buses to cross the bridge by offloading passengers who would then board light vehicles (arranged by transporters) to cross the Chenab river.

Abbasi told Dawn by phone that the transporters had approached him with a plea that their buses be allowed to cross the river. He said permission had been granted keeping in view passengers’ convenience and safety.

Abbasi said he had made the transporters to arrange light vehicle to ferry passengers to either side.

He said work on the bridge repair was on and it would take a month. Till then, he said, it would remain closed to heavy traffic.

Since the headworks is situated on busy nation highway, the heavy traffic, mainly trucks and trailers, now uses the Tranda-Bahawalpur route or the Indus Highway.