RAWALPINDI, June 20: Four boys, including two brothers, drowned in a well while two others were in critical condition in Chak Amral, a village in Chauntra, on Wednesday night, police said.

Preliminary reports said Aqib Mehmood, 25, one of the victims, climbed down into a well to check the water pump after it stopped working but fell and drowned. On seeing his brother drowning, Raqib, 22, also went into the well but met the same fate.

Four of their friends, who were standing outside the well, jumped into the well to rescue them, but two of them – Adeel Mohammad, 19, and Asif Zaman, 25, also drowned.

On hearing their cries, a large number of villagers rushed to their rescue and managed to fish out two of the victims – Nadeemul Islam and Ameer Dad – trapped in the well. They were shifted to a local hospital where their condition is stated to be critical.