Pakistan rains: Seven members of family killed as car plunges into drain in Islamabad

On Saturday, October 2, as many as seven members of a family died when their car plunged into a drain amid severe rains in the suburbs of Pakistan's capital, Islamabad. The deceased persons were residents of the Bhara Kahu region in Islamabad, according to the police. The family was returning home after attending a wedding ceremony in a neighbouring village, says police officer Ali Raza. He claimed the driver evidently didn't notice he was driving off the road, and the car ended up in the drain after colliding with a fence on a little bridge that spans the drain, as per The Associated Press (AP). Police officer Raza says the car drowned in the drain, and locals noticed it only in the morning when the water subsided. He further stated that the deceased, including two children, four women and a man, were rushed to a nearby hospital where they were declared dead. 

In several parts of Pakistan, recent monsoon rains have made some roads unsafe for travel. Many of the country's highways are devoid of warning signs, and vehicles often violate safety standards. The recent tragedy is another evidence of Pakistan's weak infrastructure. Such frequent accidents demonstrate that Prime Minister Imran Khan has failed to keep the promises he made to the people of the country in his party's manifesto during the elections in 2018, reported The News International. It is worth noting that incessant rains wreaked havoc in Pakistan's northwestern provinces last month, killing at least 14 people. According to Taimur Ali, a spokesperson for the provincial disaster management department, the majority of the deaths occurred when lightning struck three mud dwellings in a rural district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. 

Incessant rains wreak havoc in Pakistan 

Meanwhile, in the Abbottabad district, a house's roof fell, burying seven family members. The bodies had been recovered by rescuers. Several routes in the country's hilly region were closed due to landslides caused by heavy rain. In recent years, Pakistan has experienced a slew of disasters including flash floods, land erosion, cloudbursts, droughts, and smog, all of which have resulted in poor air quality, according to Daily Sabah. It should be noted here that on October 1, at least 70 fishing boats went missing at sea in Pakistan. As per reports, Pakistani authorities had issued orders stating all fishing boats sailing from Karachi to be recalled amid tropical cyclone warnings. The Pakistan Navy, Pakistan Maritime Security Agency, and the Fishermen Cooperative Society established the surveillance and rescue centres, reported news agency ANI citing Samaa News.  

Image: ANI/Representative