HYDERABAD: A six-year-old girl died in an abandoned well located in Hyderabad Minicipal Corporation’s Baby Afza Park, Latifabad, on Thursday-Friday night. Her family members mounted a search for her when she went missing. Her body was finally spotted in the well and retrieved by rescuers.

The girl, Bushra, along with her father Rajab Ali Pathan, and other family members, was enjoying a visit to the amusement park when she went missing. They are residents of Pathan Goth, Latifabad, Unit-7.

When the family failed to find her, Rajab reported the matter to the nearby A-Section police station.

As the number of visitors started to drop, one of the girl’s pair of sandals was found lying outside a room located within the park. The sandal was recognised by the family. They found a wide abandoned well inside the room and feared that the girl might have fallen in it.

Relatives and friends of Rajab also arrived at the site and tried to use a ladder to descend into the well but they found it too deep. SHO Munir Abbasi and Rescue 1122 staff also arrived though too late, according to the family.

A crowd had gathered around the room as the news of the incident had spread like a wildfire. Police dispersed the crowd.

In the meantime, the girl was found and retrieved from the well after six hours of efforts by the Rescue 1122 staff. It was shifted to the Bhitai Hospital, Latifabad, where she was pronounced dead on arrival.

Published in Dawn, April 13th, 2024