THATTA: Five members of a family of scheduled caste Bagri community drowned while four others, including women and children, were saved by rescuers after a loader rickshaw carrying the ill-fated family fell into KDA Canal near Haleji Lake here on Thursday afternoon.

The family was returning to Karachi through inspection path along the canal after having performed pilgrimage to Dargah Makhdoom Essa near Junghshahi when strong winds disturbed the loader’s balance and pushed it into the canal.

Eyewitnesses said that newlywed Pooja, her grandfather Dino, Ramo, Leela and Hina drowned immediately after getting trapped in a whirlpool in the canal. Villagers rushed to the rescue of the rest of the victims after hearing their cries for help and managed to save four, including women and children, whose names could not be ascertained.

They took out Pooja’s body but the bodies of the remaining victims were untraceable.

Thatta Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Usman Tanveer arrived at the site of the accident along with police contingent and divers and ordered lowering water gates at nearby regulator to help efforts to recover the bodies.

Published in Dawn, June 11th, 2021