Contaminated water kills two

MANSEHRA: Two siblings died and another three contracted gastroenteritis after drinking ‘contaminated’ water from a spring in Khabal village in Oghi tehsil in the district.

“We have declared a state of emergency at hospitals after the death of the two siblings, who according to preliminary investigation drank contaminated water from a local spring,” Dr Shahzad Ali Khan, District Health Officer, told reporters on Tuesday.

The five children of one Gulab Khan drank water from a nearby spring in their village. The condition of the children deteriorated after drinking the water.

They were shifted to the Basic Health Unit in Charbagh where doctors pronounced Sadia, 11, and Mohammad Safdar, 3, dead.

Mohammad Akhtar, Gul Nawaz and Memoona were referred to the King Abdullah Teaching Hospital in Mansehra.

The condition of Gul Nawaz, according to doctors, was critical.

Dr Shahzad said that villagers made announcements from mosques, asking the local people not to fetch water from the contaminated spring. “We are investigating to ascertain the cause of deaths of the two children,” said Dr Shahzad.