KARACHI: Two minor boys and a man died from inhaling toxic fumes in a well in a residential building in the Garden area on Sunday, police, rescuers and residents said.

They said that the two boys, identified as Badar Sohaib, 8, and Talha Asif, 10, were playing at the well and suddenly its cover broke and they fell down the 100-foot-deep well.

DIG-South Syed Asad Raza told Dawn that a passer-by saw the incident and he volunteered to go inside the well to save the children. However, he also died apparently due to lack of oxygen, he added.

Rescue-1122 official Hassaan Khan said that they received information about the incident at around 5:42pm and its rescue team rushed to the spot and launched an operation at around 6:20pm.

“The rescue operation continued for five hours,” he said, adding that the team faced difficulties during the rescue operation because of toxic fumes inside the well and due to the presence of several charities whose volunteers were trying to rescue the victims.

The official said that bodies of the two children were recovered while the volunteer, identified as Faizan Attari, was rescued in an unconscious condition. However, he was pronounced dead at the Dr Ruth Pfau Civil Hospital Karachi, he added.

The DIG said during the rescue operation, a policeman suffered serious injuries when a Chippa ambulance hit him.

An Edhi Foundation spokesperson said that their volunteers recovered the body of a boy in the rescue operation.

Witnesses said that the volunteer, who was a local plumber, entered the well to save the children. However, he raised an alarm about low oxygen levels. He was about to rescue the children with a rope when it couldn’t sustain the weight, broke, and all of them fell into the well.

The witnesses said they heard voices for approximately 15 minutes and then there was a complete silence.

The DIG said that a local builder had dug up the well for their housing project. He said that the police would initiate criminal proceedings against the builders/owners of the building.

Police Surgeon Summaiya Syed confirmed that they received three bodies at the CHK. She said that the exact cause of their death would be ascertained after a post-mortem examination.

Published in Dawn, September 2nd, 2024