MANSEHRA: A woman and three young girls drowned in the Indus River in Batara area of Kolai-Palas tehsil of Kohistan district on Tuesday.

According to locals, Shamim Bibi had gone to fetch water from the river when she heard a girl identified as Taj Bibi, 10, crying for help.

To rescue the drowning girl, Shamim along with two other girls, one of them named Zagrim, jumped into the water, but all of them were swept away by the strong currents.

The local divers rushed to the scene and started search for the victims but none of them could be fished out till Tuesday evening.

Abdul Hakeem, a local, told reporters that several local fishers were taking part in the search to fish out the victims.

The Batara police after lodging FIR started further investigations.

Published in Dawn, June 13th, 2018