Death toll rises to 17 as monsoon rains continue to batter Karachi for second day

Published July 30, 2019
Commuters cross a flooded street during heavy monsoon rains in Karachi on Tuesday. — AFP
Commuters cross a flooded street during heavy monsoon rains in Karachi on Tuesday. — AFP

Intermittent monsoon rains continued to wreak havoc on the ill-maintained electricity and sewerage systems in Karachi, leaving at least eight more people dead on Tuesday, officials and rescue services said.

Most of the victims died due to electrocution, taking the death toll since the first spell of rain began on Monday morning in the metropolis to 17. At least seven other people were killed in other parts of Sindh due to rain-related incidents since the downpour started.

On Tuesday, at least six people sustained injuries in wall- and roof-collapse incidents in Jodia Bazaar and Gulshan-e-Maymar areas.

Residents look out from their houses at a flooded area during heavy monsoon rains in Karachi. — AFP
Residents look out from their houses at a flooded area during heavy monsoon rains in Karachi. — AFP

A nine-year-old girl named Masooma was electrocuted in North Karachi's Sector 5-3 while she was playing in water outside her house near an electric pole.

An individual named Bakht Azameen was brought dead to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre after being electrocuted in Hazara Colony.

Atif, 19, died due to electrocution in Yusuf Goth and 12-year-old Aabir and 13-year-old Ahmed Umar died after suffering electric shock at a cricket ground in North Nazimabad's Block L.

A 30-year-old man, who could not be identified immediately, was electrocuted in Kharadar.

In Gulshan-e-Iqbal's 13-D, a 22-year-old, Kamran, died when he touched an electric pole outside his home in Block 2.

Akmal Khan, 13, died after suffering electric shock inside his home in Korangi’s Qayyumabad area early Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Edhi lifeguards rescued three children who had fallen into the Lyari river at Teen Hatti.

The accumulation of rainwater caused one track of the Karachi-Hyderabad M9 Motorway to be blocked completely.

As residents of some neighbourhoods complained that they had been facing faced power outages for more than 24 hours, a K-Electric spokesperson, Noor Afshan, told DawnNewsTV that the company had suspended power supply to feeders of some areas as a "precautionary measure". These areas included Naurus Chowrangi, Habib Bank Chowrangi, Super Auto Market, Super Highway and Pipri.

She said the rain experienced by Karachi yesterday was "unprecedented" and so the utility was forced to take safety measures.

Afshan said a major reason behind deaths caused by electrocution was the use of kunda connections. She maintained that power supply to most areas of the city had been restored.

Hyderabad's power troubles

In Hyderabad, power supply started being restored gradually on Tuesday after outages of over 30 hours. Rainwater continued to accumulate on main roads and low-lying areas and Hyderabad city, Latifabad and Qasimabad faced water shortage due to non-supply of water.

A resident tries to remove rainwater from his house during heavy monsoon rains in Karachi on July 30. — AFP
A resident tries to remove rainwater from his house during heavy monsoon rains in Karachi on July 30. — AFP

Power supply remained suspended to the 30MGD and 10MGD water reservoirs of the Water and Sanitation Agency (Wasa). The agency's Thandi Sarak reservoir, which ensures the distribution of water to large parts of the city, also remained without electricity.

In a midnight visit to Hyderabad that lasted for around two hours, Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah reviewed the post-rain situation by visiting the Tulsi Das pumping station, Railway Station area, Latifabad unit 11 and Qasimabad.

He expressed his displeasure over the power breakdown. He was briefed by Hyderabad division commissioner Abbas Baloch, Hyderabad Development Authority Chairman Ghulam Mohammad Kaimkhani and Wasa Managing Director Saleemuddin.

The chief minister asked Hyderabad Electric Supply Company CEO Abdul Haq Memon to sit in the commissioner’s office till power supply was fully restored to pumping stations and water supply facilities.

Heavy rains started in Hyderabad again on Tuesday evening, with power outages also resuming.


With additional reporting by Qazi Hassan.

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