MIANWALI: Four children died of suffocation after becoming trapped inside a locked car parked outside a neighbour’s house in Mianwali’s Isakhel area on Sunday evening.

The tragic incident occurred at Village Khaglanwala near Isakhel. According to initial reports, the four children, members of the same extended family originally from Lakki Marwat in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, left their homes in the morning to play but did not return for several hours.

The family members launched a search and eventually found the children unconscious inside a locked car parked at a neighbour’s house. It is believed that the children entered the vehicle while playing and accidentally locked themselves inside. Unable to open the doors, they remained trapped for several hours in the sweltering heat, leading to suffocation.

The family rushed the children to the Tehsil Headquarters (THQ) Hospital in Isakhel, where doctors pronounced all four dead on arrival.

According to the medical superintendent of THQ Hospital Isakhel, the children were brought to the hospital at around 8:30pm. The duty doctor examined them and confirmed that all four had died before reaching the hospital. The preliminary cause of death was suffocation after being trapped inside the vehicle.

The deceased were identified as Farishta Bibi (7) and her brother Mohammad Hussain (5), children of Taj Ali Khan, and Habiba Bibi (6) and her sister Suniba Bibi (5), daughters of Akhtar Ali Khan. The four children were first cousins. Their families had migrated from Lakki Marwat to the area in search of employment and better livelihood opportunities.

Published in Dawn, August 4th, 2026