Body of missing boy retrieved from ravine

Islamabad:The search for a missing student Muhammad Taha in Islamabad has come to an end as his body was recovered from a ditch along Trail 5 in the Margalla Hills on Monday. Taha, went on hiking with friends was reported missing since Friday.

Taha’s family rushed to the scene for identification. Upon receiving the news of Taha's body found, police officials contacted his family to confirm the identification. Close relatives arrived at the scene immediately, but identification of the body from a distance in the ravine was difficult. The family eventually confirmed the identification based on Taha's clothing.

Forest and Environment Department staff found the body on Monday morning in a deep ravine and rescue personnel worked to retrieve it. The ravine was so deep and treacherous that descending into it and retrieving the body was challenging, even for the wildlife experts and police commandos.

Initial police reports suggested that Taha may have slipped into the ditch and died, but his father had claimed that his son was kidnapped after the hiking trip. Police launched a search operation, using drone cameras and Safe City surveillance.

During a joint operation lasting over 35 hours on Trail 5 and the adjoining Margalla Hills, conducted by Islamabad Police, Rangers, and trained guards from the Wildlife Department and succeeded in tracing the body of Taha.

The effort to retrieve the body from the ravine began early Monday morning at 4:30 a.m. However, by the afternoon, the joint team participated in the operation could not found any feasible way to reach the body. The option of involving Army Aviation was also considered, where army commandos could be lowered into the ravine using ropes from a helicopter to retrieve the body. The people engaged in the rescue operation said that police commandos were dropped down with the help of ropes and pulled out of the body from the ditch.

The police also investigating to know the cause of Taha’s death. However, they have stated that a formal investigation can only be based on the post-mortem report. Officials believe that the correct direction for the investigation will be determined after findings of the post-mortem report. According to the late reports, the Police and other rescuing departments succeeded to take out the body from the deep ditch at about 6 p.m. and shifted it to the hospital for post-mortem.