• Police say several kids were standing on manhole lid.
• Private society residents have dug deep wells for sewerage.
• Deputy mayor says he went to deceased's house to condole.

The Karachi city government on Thursday shifted blame onto the private housing society's builder for deaths of children who fell into a manhole in Malir’s Memon Goth area.

At least two children had died in the tragic incident, while three others were rescued alive on Wednesday. Those rescued alive were shifted to the Jinnah Post-graduate Medical Centre in critical condition.

Police said several children were standing on the manhole lid, which collapsed under their weight. The incident took place when children had gathered at a Muharram sabeel in Ghafoor colony.

People of the private society have dug deep wells for sewerage as the colony does not have proper sewage system.

This is not a one-off event as at least 17 people have died after falling into sewer nullahs or gutters in Karachi this year.

Residents of the area rescued the children on their own as rescue organisations could not be reached because cellular services were suspended by the provincial government, in a bid to enhance security for mourning processions on 10th of Muharram.

The deceased have been identified as 10-year-old Taha Lashari and 4-year-old Hasnain. The other three are 7-year-old Saqib, 11-year-old Parvez and a 10-year-old unidentified kid.

Memon Goth is considered a stronghold of the ruling Sindh government’s party, the Pakistan Peoples Party. The residents of the backward area apprised Geo News that it was third such incident within one and a half years wherein children fell into a manhole.

Talking on Geo News' programme "Geo Pakistan", Karachi Deputy Mayor Salman Abdullah Murad said it was a private society, therefore, its builder was responsible to provide all the facilities and infrastructure to its residents.

“Responsibility of the incident lies on shoulders of the private society's builder,” he said.

He said it was a big tragedy and he personally went to the deceased's house to condole the family.

The deputy mayor said after one such incident had some time ago taken place in Memon Goth, police had caught a couple of people stealing cover of a manhole. 

He said citizens were also responsible to some extent for such unfortunate incidents as they should immediately inform police watching a culprit damaging or stealing public property.