THATTA: Three women and two children of the same family belonging to the Jatt community drowned in the Indus near here on Saturday.

Residents of the nearby Wali Mohammad Bijarpoto village said that the women, Ghulam Khatoon, Sameena and Meenh Wasai, along with their children, Shakil, 8, and Salma, 3, were washing clothes on the embankment when Salma slipped into the river and got trapped in a whirlpool. One woman jumped into the river to rescue the girl but she also got trapped in the whirlpool and raised a hue and cry for help. The other two women then jumped into the river one after the other met the same fate. Finally, Shakil went after them. All of them drowned before anyone from the village could reach the desolate spot.

A young shepherd who happened to be there rushed to the village and informed people about the incident.

Divers among the villagers retrieved the bodies before the police could make it to the spot.

Published in Dawn, May 10th, 2020