'Head hangs in shame': Netizens dismayed as Karachi boy dies after falling into open manhole

The death of a three-year-old boy who fell into an open manhole in Karachi's Gulshan-e-Iqbal area has sparked outrage on social media, with netizens lambasting authorities for negligence and incompetence.

Tragedy struck late Sunday night when the child, identified as Ibrahim, slipped into the uncovered manhole near a departmental store situated at Nipa.

According to the father, the child ran ahead "after slipping his hand away" before falling into the manhole.

Rescue teams then launched an operation that lasted 14 hours, ultimately finding the boy's body in a drain about one kilometre from the site of the incident.

The boy's grandfather, Mehmoodul Hasan, said the child was the couple's only son.

Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab ordered an inquiry into the incident, including how long the manhole had been "left open in the middle of the city".

Meanwhile, netizens decried the lack of basic infrastructure in the metropolitan, terming the incident as a result of the "PPP's incompetent and uncaring governance in Sindh".