Pakistani hockey player, Shahida Raza, was among those who tragically lost their lives in search of a better future in a boat accident off the coast of Italy.
The Pakistani hockey player was known fondly as Chinttu among her friends. Besides hockey, she had also played football at the domestic level.
However, troubles in her personal life forced her to take the dangerous journey. According to sources, Shahida Raza got divorced and struggled to provide for her young son.
The reason for illegally travelling to Italy was her 3 year old son’s deteriorating health, who had suffered a stroke at just 40 days old.
She had tried seeking medical help for him in several hospitals in Karachi but to no avail.
In her last call to her family, she was happy for finally being close to her destination and talked about calling her son and taking him for treatment as soon as she arrived in Italy.
The call abruptly ended and Shahida’s family couldn’t reach out to her. She was among the 60 other people who lost their lives in the shipwreck