THATTA: Two women and two young girls were feared downed in KB Feeder (an irrigation channel) near Jherruck town, some 50 kilometres from here, on Monday.

A large number of shocked people gathered at the scene told the media that the two women, Ms Saima and Ms Meerzadi along with seven-year-old Kulsoom and 10-year-old Farzana, were fetching water when Kulsoom overbalanced and fell into the channel. They said that the panicked women jumped into the waterway to rescue her and Farzana also followed them.

The hue and cry raised by the women attracted the attention of many people present around and some divers among them jumped into the water to rescue the drowning victims, the onlookers said.

However, they added, after a hectic search, the divers could fish out only Kulsoom, who was in a critical condition. She died as no emergency medical treatment was available in the nearby areas, including Jherruck town.

A search for other three victims was under way till late in the evening. The relation between each of the victims could not be known immediately.