TAXILA: Six members of the same family suffocated to death while repairing a water pump in a well at their residence on Friday.

The incident took place in Dhoke Maliar in the jurisdiction of Bhattar police station near Attock.

Police and Rescue 1122 sources said 50-year-old Mohammad Sadiq and 20-year-old Faizan Qadir climbed down the well to repair a pump installed in it, but due to the poisonous gases inside the well, they suffocated.

Afterwards, 30-year-old Amir Abdullah, 28-year-old Israr Rehmat along with his two brothers 28-year-old Zubair Rehmat and 26-year-old Aamir Rehmat volunteered to rescue them and lowered themselves down the well but did not survive either.

District Emergency Officer Dr Mohammad Ishfaq Mian said after being informed,a team of Rescue 1122 with full protection gear and five rescue vehicles completed the rescue operation within 30 minutes. The bodies were shifted to a local hospital. “Rescue worker Taimoor Shahzad volunteered for the risky operation and retrieved the deceased from the deadly well,” he said.

Upon receiving information, Deputy Commissioner Attock Ali Anan Qammar along with District Police Officer Syed Khalid Hamdani visited the place of the incident and supervised the rescue operation. They also visited Mr Rehmat’s residence, whose three sons lost their life in the incident and offered condolences to him and his family members.

Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Overseas Pakistanis Syed Zulfiqar Abbas Bokhari also visited the village and offered consolation to the grieved families. He offered government’s support for families of the deceased.

A similar incident happened in June last year when three persons died of suffocation inside a well while repairing a water pump in Adilzai near Hazro police station.

Published in Dawn, July 4th, 2020