April 29, 2008	Tuesday	Rabi-us-Sani 22, 1429

KARACHI, April 28: A 15-day-old baby girl was killed and three others, including her mother, were injured on Monday when the roof of an underground water tank at a private clinic caved in, in Machhar Colony, off Mauripur Road, witnesses and police said.

Twenty-five-year-old Saima, wife of Liaquat Ali, had come along with her 15-day-old daughter, Saira, to Al-Hamra Clinic near Khushhal Chowk, Mohammedi Colony, for the vaccination of the newborn.

Residents said that over two dozen women, mostly with their newborns, were present in the vaccination clinic when at around 11am the top of the underground water tank caved in.

They said the area people rushed to the spot and rescued two women and their babies.

Liaquat Ali, a Pashtu-speaking factory worker from Quetta, told Dawn that his wife, who was also injured in the tank roof collapse, was still in a state of shock as “God had blessed them with a baby girl after the birth of three sons”.

“It will be too premature to fix the responsibility of the incident on any one,” the shattered father said, adding that none could avert the decree of fate.

He said his wife, who had sustained injuries to her left hand and face, had visited the clinic for the first time for the baby’s vaccination. “She had also taken with her our three sons, who were playing outside the clinic at the time of the incident,” he said.

Tariq Nawab, an ANP activist in the area, said he was standing close to the clinic when he heard a bang and women crying for help. “I along with some bystanders dashed into the clinic where I saw two women stuck in rubble and we retrieved the two women and their babies,” he added.

He said an infant had already died when she was taken out from the half-filled water tank, measuring six by seven feet. “The water level in the about six-foot-deep tank rose after the broken pieces of concrete fell into it,” he added.

The dead and the injured were shifted to the Civil Hospital, where Saira was pronounced dead.

The medico-legal officer, Dr Mubarak Ali Pathan, told Dawn that Alia, 20, wife of Fazal Hussain, broke her right leg in the incident and her 15-day-old daughter, Aisha, received injuries to her head.

He said both the injured mother and child were discharged from the hospital after treatment.

Fazal Hussain, a worker at a tyre-mending shop, told Dawn that he had been married to Alia for the past six years and Aisha was their first girlchild born 14 days ago.

He said that he along with his wife and daughter reached the clinic minutes before the water tank roof caved in. “I was standing outside the clinic when I heard women screaming, and I ran into the clinic to join others in the rescue work,” he added.

He said he found his wife struggling in the waist-deep water. “My daughter had almost drowned, but luckily we managed to retrieve her immediately,” he added.

“I am really thankful to God that he saved my wife and daughter,” he said, adding that he was very much concerned for the wellbeing of his wife.

He said chaos prevailed following the tank roof collapse as the terrified women called for help. “It was like a doom’s day situation, as every woman was concerned about the safety of her baby,” he added.

Adnan Ali, owner of the clinic, told Dawn that he had given a portion of the clinic to the official vaccinator, who visited the clinic on Mondays. He said the roof of the water tank was of concrete.

Young man dies in wall collapse

A 20-year-old man was killed and his 50-year-old father was injured when a wall collapsed on them in Site, police said.

The body was shifted to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital, where the dead man was identified as Ashraf and his injured father as Sultan.

Police said the victims were labourers and they were sitting beside the wall of a workshop when it collapsed.