SUKKUR: A nine-year-old boy fell into the Indus river and drowned under the Lansdowne bridge on Friday.

Ghulam Abbas, resident of New Pind, was going to Rohri along with his father Muhammad Ismail Gopang on foot. While passing thro­ugh the bridge, the boy fell into the river and drowned because of a broken wooden part of the bridge.

Private and navy divers reached the spot and found the body after a struggle of four hours.

Ismail Gopang told reporters that his son was walking behind him when he fell. He said his son died due to the negligence of the district administration as well as the staff posted at the bridge.

He said other children might also fall victim to the negligence and demanded that the higher authorities concerned take immediate action against the staff of the Lansdowne bridge.

During British rule, a wooden footpath was built on both sides of the bridge for pedestrians. With the passage of time, planks of the footpath have been broken at different sections, but the district administration pays no heed to the damage.

Published in Dawn, January 2nd, 2016