A neglected bridge and an unheard warning: How Hyderabad family was swept away near Karachi

Muhammad Zeeshan Ansari, 42, his wife Rabia, their young daughter Amna, and three sons Muhammad Ebad and Muhammad Ayan, and Musa were eager to return to their home in Hyderabad after attending a ceremony in Karachi. The family of six hired a private car for the journey.

Maulana Abdur Rehman, who owned the white salon car the Ansari family hired, was incidentally driving the vehicle himself on that fateful day. Rehman too wanted to return home in Hyderabad and was pleased to have offered his vehicle for rent to Ansaris who happened to live near his house in Hyderabad’s Liaquat Colony.

They left Karachi’s Quaidabad area Wednesday evening at around 7pm as dark clouds lashed the northern suburbs of the city and rain thickened the darkness felling on roads submerged under water.

Traveling a few miles on the National Highway which leads out of Karachi’s Quaidabad towards Thatta, they took a turn onto the link road that would take them to motorway M9, also known by its older name of Super Highway.

The rain was still falling heavily, but they moved along the link road, officially called the Eastern Bypass, without much trouble.

The link road is slightly higher than the surrounding areas, except at a couple of points where it traverses natural waterways. They easily passed through the first one without any trouble. However, the second was the Malir River — usually a dry river bed with an innocent-looking streak of water but a raging river during monsoon season.

Until 2014, vehicles crossed the Malir River at this spot using a bridge that has fallen into disrepair since 2015.

When officials failed to revive the bridge a dirt road appeared next to it in 2015. The dirt road was turned into a causeway in 2017, as the authorities decided against rebuilding the bridge. The disused bridge still stands there.

The Ansaris and their driver Rehman tried to cross the river using that same causeway — the decision proved to be a deadly mistake.

Memon Goth police Station House Officer (SHO) Ateequr Rehman told SAMAA Digital that heavy rainfall in Kirthar Mountains caused flooding in the Malir River and the causeway was submerged under the water Wednesday evening.

When Ansaris arrived there, a strong current of flood water was passing over the causeway, and vehicular movement at the causeway had been suspended, said the police officer.

There were no signs of water subsiding. The flood lasted until 5:30am Thursday morning.

Ateequr Rehman said a car approached the causeway at around 8:30pm Wednesday evening and tried to cross the river.

As the car headed into the water, the driver of a trailer warned the person driving the car of the danger they were to face, according to the SHO.

The risk was clear. A trailer carrying goods had been stranded in the middle of the causeway and the road was three feet under the floodwater.

The white saloon stood no chance. Water pushed it off the causeway and dragged it at least one and a half kilometers downstream, where rescuers found it the next morning.

Planning for the journey

Maulana Abdur Rehman ran multiple businesses in Hyderabad. He owned a travel agency named Al Hafiz Travels in Hyderabad’s Heerabad area and looked after a bookshop Maktaba-e-Aflah-o-Tableegh, which was owned by his father Karamdad, according to his relative Hafiz Armaan.

Hafiz Abdul Hai Arif, who is the real brother of Rehman, told SAMAA Digital that Rehman had gone to Karachi to exchange foreign currency.

Rehman called his wife at 5:30pm on Wednesday and informed her that he was returning to Hyderabad and will reach home in one and a half hours, said Arif.

Meanwhile, Rehman received a call from his friend whose family was in Karachi to attend a ceremony and wanted to return home.

“Rehman’s friend asked that if he could collect his family from Quaidabad,” Arif said.

“Rehman collected the family but when they departed for Hyderabad, they got information about heavy rainfall in the areas adjoining M9 Motorway.” Arif added.

A footage had gone viral on social media showing a housing society being flooded.

According to Arif, Rehman decided to travel by the link road connecting National Highway to M9 Motorway at Kathore Morr, but a strong current of rainwater in Malir River swept away their four-wheeler.

Saleem Qalandari, who identified himself as a cousin of Abdur Rehman, offered a slightly different account of how the Ansaris contacted Rehman.

He told SAMMA Digital that Rehman also ran a rent-a-car business and as rent-a-car operators regularly communicated through a WhatsApp group, Rehman learned that a family was looking for a ride to Hyderabad from Karachi.

Qalandari said Rehman was at Clifton at that time and when he came to know that the said family lived near his house in Hyderabad, he accepted the ride.

Rehman picked up the family from Quaidabad at 6:45pm Wednesday evening and left for Hyderabad, according to Qalandari.

Aqeeqa ceremony

Sharing details about Muhammad Zeeshan Ansari and his family, Junaid, a relative, told SAMAA Digital that Zeeshan was a tailor by profession as was his brother Khalid who ran a shop in Hyderabad.

Zeeshan stiched clothes at his home.

According to Junaid, a niece of Zeeshan gave birth to a baby boy and the family arranged the Aqeeqa ceremony. Zeeshan and his family went to Karachi to attend the ceremony.

They spent a night there and the next day (on Wednesday) they departed for Hyderabad.

Four bodies found as search continues

When rescuers found the white saloon, around one and a half kilometers away from the causeway, it was lying in knee-deep water.

Its windscreens were missing and the roof had been bent inwards. There was no sign of the occupants.

The bodies of ten-year-old Amna and seven-year-old Musa were fished out Thursday.

The bodies of Zeeshan Ansari and Ebad were found on Friday at least 13 kilometers downstream as rescuers continued to search for his wife and son Ayan and driver Rehman.