KARACHI, March 1: A one-and-a-half-year-old boy died when he fell into a stormwater drain near his home in New Karachi on Friday morning.

The parents of the boy, Moinuddin, became concerned when they did not find their child outside the house in the shanty town Data Nagri in Sector 11-J.

Moin’s older brother Mohammed Waseem, aged 12, told his parents that he was holding his younger brother Moin in his arms. As he tried to take his slipper out of the stormwater drain, Moin slipped off from his arm and fell into the drain.

Waseem was playing with his friends close to the stormwater drain, when his friends threw his slipper into the drain.

Following the incident, the Town Nazim, with other officials, reached the spot and efforts began to get the child out of the drain, a spokesman for North Karachi Town said.

Sanitary workers of the Town stepped into the drain to search for the body. Even nets had been placed at the far ends of the drain. However, the body had not been recovered till our going to the press.

During the search operation, the drain was cleaned to a great extent by using heavy machinery.

By evening the boy’s father, Mohammed Munir, a taxi-driver, had lost all hopes of ever seeing his son again.

In the recent past several children have died after falling into open drains in the city. Even grown-ups have died by falling into uncovered drains and uncovered manholes. Several motorcyclists and cyclists too have died when they fell into open manholes. Many have been reported injured.

There are numerous such uncovered drains in the city, and most of them are without boundary walls or any kind of fencing. Open manholes also abound in the city, claiming the lives of children and grownups alike.