ISLAMABAD: A farewell party at a public sector college of Islamabad on Thursday turned tragic when a three grader suffered burn injuries after falling into boiling water during the event.

The management of Islamabad Model College for Girls F-10/2 arranged a farewell party for retiring principal.

However, the event included cooking activities despite it being a regular academic day with hundreds of students present on campus. An official of college said that when water was being heated in open area, presumably for tea, a third-grader, who was playing nearby accidentally fell into big pot filled with hot water and sustained burn injuries.

She was rushed to Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims), where she is being treated. “This is a big negligence on part of college management, why such party was arranged during college time. Why safety protocol were ignored.. this is criminal negligence,” said an official and added that child has been admitted in Pims as she was critically burnt.

On the other hand, a director of Federal Directorate of Education (FDE) speaking to Dawn claimed that student is out of danger. “Yes, this unfortunate incident happened at F-10 College. We have sought report from the college administration and in the light of report, we will hold inquiry into this issue,” the director said.

“I was told by management of the college that girl is being treated at Pims and she is out of danger and might be discharged on Friday, but no doubt this is unfortunate incident and we will hold inquiry to fix responsibility aimed at preventing such incidents in future.” he said.

Published in Dawn, April 24th, 2026