Lahore manhole tragedy: Body of 10-month-old baby found after 17 hours

LAHORE:The body of the infant girl, who fell in open manhole along with her mother, was recovered 17 hours after the accident in Lahore’s Bhatti Gate area, ARY News reported on Thursday.

According to rescue officials, the body of 10-month-old Rida was retrieved by the Rescue diving team from the Saggian area, a place approximate 8 kilometers away from the site of incident.

The child had fallen into a manhole along with her mother near Bhatti Gate a day earlier.

Earlier, the rescue teams found the body of toddler’s mother named Sadia. According to DIG Operations Faisal Kamran, the body of the woman was recovered from a sewer line on Outfall Road.

DIG Faisal Kamran further stated that a high-level committee has been constituted to investigate the incident, and a formal notification regarding the committee has already been issued.

He said the body had been swept away due to strong water flow in the sewer line. Mr. Kamran said all the departments are working in coordination.

Meanwhile, on the directives of Chief Minister Punjab Maryam Nawaz, the relevant officers have been suspended with immediate effect. Acting on the chief minister’s instructions, the project director responsible for negligence has been suspended.

Secretary Housing has issued suspension orders for Project Director Zahid Abbas, while Director Tipu Shabbir Hussain has also been suspended on charges of negligence and incompetence, according to a spokesperson for the Punjab Housing Department.