PESHAWAR // An 11-year-old girl drowned on Tuesday after falling into a river in northern Pakistan while attempting to take a selfie, with her parents also being killed while trying to save her.
The drownings occurred in the Kunhar river that flows through Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province at a hilly tourist spot in the village of Beesian, some 200 kilometres north of Islamabad.
The deep, rocky and fast-flowing river is popular for white-water rafting.
“The girl, Safia Atif, was trying to take a selfie along the river when she slipped and fell,” said local police official Arshad Khan, explaining that the incident was witnessed by other tourists.
Safia’s mother, Shazia Atif, then jumped in to save her daughter but was swept away.
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“Seeing both his wife and daughter drowning, the father Atif Hussain also jumped in to rescue them but he met a similar fate,” Mr Khan said.
“The dead bodies of the mother and daughter have been recovered while we are still looking for the body of Hussain.”
He said the parents were doctors from Punjab province and had taken their family to the area on holiday. They are survived by a nine-year-old daughter and six-year-old son who witnessed the event.
“Both of them are in the protective custody of the local administration and they will be handed over to their family members when they arrive,” Mr Khan said.
* Agence France-Presse
