Pak Navy, district administration teams rescue 4 children trapped in Korang Nullah
Zubair Qureshi
Several areas in the twin cities were inundated— with at least one child dead — as monsoon rains lashed Islamabad and Rawalpindi on Tuesday. Islamabad’s H-13 sector and low-lying areas while in Rawalpindi, localities along the Leh Nullah were the most affected.
The child’s death occurred due to drowning, in the Leh Nullah in Rawalpindi’s Hazara Colony area, a spokesperson for Rescue 1122 told media.
According to details, two friends had dared each other to jump in the Nullah, following which one of them drowned. A search operation was ongoing to recover the child’s body.
The basements of different houses in those areas and shops were filled with water while many vehicles were submerged due to heavy flow of water.
District rescue teams till late Tuesday remained busy in rescue operation clearing the areas and pulling the vehicles out of water, etc.Meanwhile, four children who had fallen into the capital’s Korang Nullah while playing were rescued safely by the Pakistan Navy and the district rescue teams.
Deputy Commissioner Islamabad Irfan Nawaz Memon said, the operation lasted for hours and had to stop due to heavy flow of water. However, finally the rescue teams took the boys to safe place. He appealed to people to stay away from drains during the rainy season.Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in a statement lauded the rescue teams for saving four children stranded in Islamabad’s rainwater stream, Korang Nullah due to flooding.
He commended the services of district administration, police and Rescue 1122, and the Pakistan Navy for setting an excellent example of responsibility.
The prime minister said this was an example to be emulated by other rescue teams in the rest of the country.He advised the parents to be vigilant about the safety of their children during the rainy season.
The prime minister also asked the people to extend help to their fellow countrymen with the spirit of national and humanitarian compassion during the heavy downpours and flood situations.
Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) data shows 39mm of rain had fallen around the Leh Nullah in Pindi, 55mm in Saidpur village, 54mm in Golra, 36mm in Chaklala and 11mm in Shamsabad till the filing of this report.
Meanwhile, the managing director of Water and Sanitation Agency (Wasa), Tanveer Ahmed, said 60mm of rainfall was recorded in the twin cities, adding that water levels had risen to 12 feet in the area around Leh Nullah in Pindi’s Katarian and nine feet in Rawalpindi’s Gawalmandi area.
The capital’s low-lying sector H-13 as well as homes in Pindi’s Sadiqabad, Shamsabad, Dhok Kala Khan and Awan Colony were flooded, while rainwater also accumulated on the garrison city’s Jamia Masjid Road and Murree Road. As much as five feet of rainwater had accumulated in Sadiqabad.
Residents in another area, New Lalazar, climbed to their rooftops as rainwater started entering homes and vehicles were submerged.
