Car carrying 7 swept away in Karachi floods

Karachi: Seven people have drowned after their four-wheeler was swept away due to flooding in the Malir River in the suburbs of Karachi after heavy monsoon rains.

Six of the car riders belong to the same family while the seventh was the driver who was taking them back to Hyderabad from Karachi after attending a marriage function. The family comprise parents and their four children.

Volunteers of the Edhi Foundation, Pakistan Navy, local police, locals from the area, and relatives of the affected family took part in the rescue efforts.

The search and rescue operation was immediately started after the empty car was found in the Malir River the morning after the tragedy. A very high flow of water in the river after heavy rains in District Malir and the suburbs of Karachi caused the accident. The rescue efforts were severely hampered due to the high flow of the river.

Later, the rescuers found the bodies of two children of the missing family - a 10-year-old boy Mohammad Moosa and a seven-year-old girl Hamna.

The names of the other family members are Mohammad Zeeshan Ansari, Rabia and their two children Ebad and Ayan. The bodies of Zeeshan, Ebad, and Ayan were also found. The search operation has been continuing for finding Rabia and the driver of the car, Abdul Rehman.

The tragedy occurred on the link road, which bisects the Malir River to connect the National Highway with the M-9 section of the motorway from Karachi to Hyderabad. The link road becomes dangerous for motorists whenever there is a high flow of water in the river after heavy monsoon rains.

Sindh government’s Information Secretary, Abdul Rasheed Solangi said the tragedy occurred as the occupants of the car decided to continue travelling on the link road despite being cautioned by the local people due to heavy rains. He said that a high flow of water swept the car away.

He cautioned the people to follow the directives of the district administration while travelling during monsoon rains to avoid such tragedies.

Sindh Social Welfare Minister, Sajid Jokhio, along with Deputy Commissioner of District Malir also visited Malir River to supervise the rescue operation.

He asked the officials concerned to evacuate people living on the river bank.

Sindh Information Minister, Sharjeel Inam Memon, said that massive human and material losses had occurred in a number of districts in the province due to heavy monsoon rains.

He said the Provincial Disaster Management Authority had launched immediate relief efforts for the rain-affected communities. He said the Sindh government would compensate for the loss of lives and property due to heavy rains.