6th grader dies in pool during swimming class in Karachi

In a tragic incident, a Grade VI student drowned to death in the swimming pool of his school during a swimming class on Tuesday.

Police have detained two employees of the school over the incident, while the deputy inspector general (DIG) of the South Zone has taken notice of the incident and sought a report from the Keamari Division’s superintendent of police.

A case of Qatl-e-Khata was being registered against the detained instructors as well as school management, police said. Eleven-year-old Usman, son of Zeeshan Durrani was a Grade VI student of Habib Public School.

The tragic incident occurred when he was taking his swimming class. The school administration immediately took him to a private hospital in the Clifton neihgbourhood where doctors pronounced him dead.

Responding to information, police officials also reached the school and inquired about the incident. The police then took the body to Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre for medico-legal formalities. Police also detained two of the school’s employees, swimming instructor Mumtaz Akbar and Saifullah, and initiated further investigations.

The deceased was said to be a swimming champion and the only brother of his two sisters. His family arrived on the scene after getting information about the tragedy. “The incident occurred at around 2pm; however, we were informed by a school administration at 4 O’clock stating that Usman’s has been admitted to hospital due to some illness,” the father told the media. “Usman had breathed his last when we reached the hospital.”

DIG South Zone Sharjeel Kharal took notice of the incident and sought a detailed report from the Keamari Division SP over the incident. Director Schools Mansoob Siddiqui also approached the school principal and inquired about the incident. In a press statement, he said that it was the swimming day at the school, adding that about 15 students were attending the swimming class.

He said the swimming pool’s depth was not enough for the students, adding that the victim during swimming panicked and fell unconscious. He said that two instructors were providing training to the students. He added that the inquiry team would be sent to the school to inquire about the incident on Wednesday. He also warned to cancel the registration of the school.

A case was being registered against the detained instructors and school management. “We have quickly responded and detained both the instructors,” says SP Erum Awan while talking to The News. “Now we are going to register an FIR against the detained instructors and we are also going to nominate the school management in the FIR.”

“Initially, we would place the section of Qatl-e-Khata in the FIR and later more sections could be added if anything was found in investigations,” she explained. Talking about the initial statements of the detained instructors, she said that the instructors told the police that they were present when the incident took place. “He [the body] just dived and within six seconds the incident occurred. We are themselves worried how actually it happened as he was not a learner but he was a trained swimmer as he had received multiple awards for best swimming,” the instructors told the police.