SWABI: Two boys drowned in the Indus River while taking a dip to beat the heat on Saturday, Rescue 1122 officials said.

They said that a group of youngsters had gone to the river for a picnic near the Hund village. As they were taking a dip in the river, two of them slipped into the deep waters and drowned.

The other picnickers informed the rescue officials about the incident, who reached the spot soon afterwards and started search for the boys.

The victims were identified as Sajjid Khan of Maneri Bala village and Nisar Khan of Jamalabad village.

Luqman Khan, a rescue official, said divers were continuing search for the bodies.

Separately, Tarbela hills caught fire on Saturday, rescue officials said.

They said that cause of the blaze was not known but strong winds fueled it, making the task of firefighters more difficult. They said that the fire was brought under control after a struggle of eight hours.

Also on Saturday, five people were injured when a car and a rickshaw collided in Kunda Mor area.

The injured included Zar Shad, Mushtaq Khan, Fazal Hassan, Inam Khan and Sanaullah. They were shifted to Bacha Khan Hospital Complex, Shahmansoor.

Published in Dawn, May 30th, 2021