After an exhausting 15-hour search, rescue workers from the Karachi Municipal Corporation (KMC) recovered the body of three-year-old Ibrahim, who tragically fell into an uncovered manhole near Nipa Chowrangi on Sunday night. The child’s body was found almost half a kilometre downstream, close to the Sir Syed University of Engineering and Technology on Monday morning.
The fatal accident occurred outside Karachi’s Chase Up Center, where a two-by-two-foot open manhole sat without any protective cover or barrier. Ibrahim, the only child of his parents, slipped into the gutter around 11pm while walking ahead of his father between several parked motorcycles. The family had visited the area for shopping, unaware of the deadly hazard just a few steps away.
According to relatives, Ibrahim had briefly let go of his father’s hand before suddenly vanishing into the open drain. The family, residents of Shah Faisal Colony, immediately panicked and began searching the area. His mother fainted upon learning what had happened, while the child’s grandfather, Mehmoodul Hasan, was the one to receive the body once it was recovered.
Locals and volunteers joined the frantic rescue operation throughout the night, but they expressed deep frustration over the lack of response from authorities. Rescue efforts initially began but were halted due to insufficient equipment. With no machinery, no sewerage maps, and no official support, the family and neighbourhood residents were left to fend for themselves. In desperation, they personally arranged excavation machinery and even paid Rs15,000 for private operators to continue digging when no department came forward.
The uncovered manhole was later found to be around three feet deep and connected directly to Gulshan-e-Iqbal’s main 36-inch sewerage line. Ibrahim’s body had travelled through three internal sewage channels before ending up near the Dental Medical Center adjacent to Sir Syed University. Shockingly, heavy BRT engineering machinery was only made available the following morning—nearly 16 hours after the incident—delaying rescue and recovery efforts even further.
As news of the tragedy spread, anger erupted in the neighbourhood. Residents staged protests at Nipa Chowrangi, blocking traffic towards Hassan Square, burning tyres, and stopping vehicles. Some protesters damaged media vans and attempted to prevent office-goers from passing by. Police were forced to divert traffic to alternative routes to ease the situation.
Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab expressed deep sorrow over the incident and said that CCTV footage from Chase Up was being collected to assist the investigation. He confirmed that the manhole had no cover and stated that the Karachi Water & Sewerage Corporation (KWSC) had been ordered to conduct a full inquiry. He also stated that strict action would be taken if negligence was proven.
Sindh government spokesperson Saadia Javed also confirmed that an inquiry team had been assigned to determine why the manhole cover was missing and who was responsible for its maintenance and inspection.
Political leaders, including MQM’s Dr Farooq Sattar and Jamaat-e-Islami’s Hafiz Naeemur-Rehman, visited the area and criticised the city administration. They held both the mayor and the Water Board accountable for what they described as an avoidable tragedy caused by criminal negligence. They stressed that hundreds of open drains and missing manhole covers across Karachi pose daily risks to children and pedestrians.
Residents also questioned the role of Chase Up’s management, saying a large commercial store earning millions had failed to place even a temporary barrier around a dangerous open gutter right at its entrance. A volunteer participating in the search remarked in frustration that if politicians cannot fix the manholes, they should at least plant their party flags on them so people know where danger lies.
The heartbreaking death of three-year-old Ibrahim has once again highlighted Karachi’s long-standing civic issues—uncovered manholes, broken drains, lack of emergency response, and an absence of accountability. For the grieving family, however, these failures have cost them their only child.
