Two children and a young man lost their lives after falling into a 120-foot-deep submersible pump well in Karachi’s Garden East, police said on Sunday.
Eyewitnesses said the boys were “jumping” on the lid of the well when it suddenly broke under their weight, sending the victims, aged 8 and 12, crashing down to the bottom, where a submersible water pump was installed.
In a panic, the residents called a local plumber to go down the well and rescue the children, but tragically, he met the same fate when the rope he was hanging onto snapped, according to the residents
As soon as the authorities were alerted on the matter, rescuers were dispatched to the spot.
The rescue teams told Geo News that they faced difficulty in pulling the children out of the well because it was very narrow.
Both the children, identified as Badar and Talha, and the plumber were pulled out in critical condition and were later declared dead.
They said that one of their workers also got stuck inside the well but he was later pulled out safely.
Speaking to Geo News, the residents said that when the plumber stepped into the well, he told them about the “lack of oxygen” inside.
“He tied both children to his body with a rope and asked us to pull it up, but it broke,” they said.