RAWALPINDI: A 10-year-old boy drowned in a nullah while six members of his family were rescued after a van in which they were traveling was swept away during the heavy downpour near Rawat on Sunday.

Police said the seven-member family, led by Mohammad Sajjad, was going to a shrine at Kalar Syedan from Rawat. As the driver of the van tried to cross the nullah, a heavy tide of rainwater approached them.

On seeing the incoming tide, the boy, identified as Wasi, jumped out of the vehicle and was swept away.

However, the remaining people, including four women, got trapped in the vehicle and were rescued by villagers.

Police said the van was later pulled out of the nullah with the help of a crane. The rescuers abandoned the search for the missing boy after sunset.

Published in Dawn, March 30th, 2015

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