RAWALPINDI: Three members of a family were killed and a child was injured in a road accident near Kohala Bridge, said rescue officials on Wednesday.

According to Rescue 1122, the four-member family, travelling in a car, included Muhammad Naeem, 45, his wife Sumaira, daughter Aneeba, 17, and 11-year-old son Mohammad Saad. They had gone to Kohala for a picnic.

The family, which belonged to Khanewal, was returning when a truck rammed into their car, apparently due to a brake failure near the bridge, killing the man, his wife and daughter and injuring the son who suffered multiple bone fractures.

Shortly after the accident, the emergency service staff and local police reached the spot. Initially, the bodies were shifted to Rawalpindi and then to their native town of Khanewal. The injured boy was moved to Benazir Bhutto Hospital (BBH) with a left leg fracture. The cause of the accident was declared as brake failure of the truck.

Three children drown

Meanwhile, two children drowned in nullahs at Bostan Road and Adiala Road on Wednesday as rain submerged roads and streets due to poor drainage in different parts of the garrison city. A five-year-old child drowned in a nullah at Bostan Road while an eight-year-old girl drowned in a nullah along Adiala Road. The rescue operation to retrieve the bodies of the two children after hours of efforts was suspended on Wednesday night. It will resume in the morning to fish out the dead bodies.

Another child was drowned in Dhoke Paracha near Tarnol, in the jurisdiction of the Sangjani police station. The body of the child was recovered by the rescuers and police and handed over to his parents.

On the other hand, the emergency services issued a weather advisory and alert asking people to be careful during the monsoon rain, avoid going out unnecessarily, and prevent the children from moving towards Leh Nullah.

As part of the weather alert, the emergency staff reached Kattarian, Gawalmandi and other low-lying areas of the city to cope with the situation in case of emergency. The National Highway and the Motorway Police also issued a travel advisory in view of the rain continuing intermittently in Islamabad, Peshawar, Kot Momin, Dera Ismail Khan, Swat, and Thakot.

A motorway police spokesperson advised people to avoid speeding and keep proper distance from the next vehicle more than usual during the rainy weather. He further said that information could be obtained from the Motorway Police helpline 130 before starting the journey.

Published in Dawn, August 8th, 2024