Two children drown in water-filled pit on vacant plot in Karachi

KARACHI: Two children drowned in a water-filled pit on a vacant plot in Karachi’s Gulshan-e-Memar area on Saturday, police and rescue officials said.

The incident occurred in Dhani Bakhsh Goth near the SITE Super Highway area, where the children were reportedly bathing in accumulated rainwater or groundwater amid intense heat, officials said.

Police and volunteers from the Chhipa welfare organisation reached the site after receiving information about the incident.

Residents, assisted by rescue workers, retrieved the bodies from the pit and shifted them to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital.

A Chhipa spokesperson identified the victims as 11-year-old Waseem, son of Siddiq, and 10-year-old Mohammad Zeeshan, son of Amir Mohammad. Both children were residents of the same neighbourhood.

Police said that the vacant plot had neither a boundary wall nor a watchman, and authorities were attempting to trace the owner.

“The plot owner showed negligence and carelessness, which is an offence under the law,” a police official said. Police said that a case would be registered and the owner arrested if the victims’ families chose to pursue legal acti