Six persons drown in separate incidents

Five members of a tableeghi organisation drowned while swimming in Akram Canal in Hyderabad

HYDERABAD:

Six persons, including three children and a woman, died after drowning in two separate incidents on Tuesday.

A boat carrying 14 passengers capsized in Keenjhar Lake, Thatta. According to police officials, 10 persons were rescued, but three children and a woman could not be saved. The bodies of three-year-old Naimat and newborn, Sadoro, were recovered by Tuesday evening. The body of Sharmeen was found on Wednesday. The third child, two-and-a-half year old Zubaida, is still missing.

The victims belong to Sunehri village, located along the banks of the lake, around 25 kilometres from Thatta town. When the incident took place, the villagers were returning from the shrine of Baba Ameer Pir, which is located on the opposite bank of the lake, according to one of the survivors, Ali Muhammad.

SHO Yousuf Palijo had earlier claimed that all the drowned persons have been rescued. However, it later emerged that at least four of the villagers were missing.

The lake witnesses several accidents every month. But it lacks an effective rescue service as the task is left to the volunteer fishermen and boatmen.

Meanwhile, five members of the tableeghi organisation, Dawat Islami, drowned while swimming in Akram Canal in Hyderabad. According to Edhi incharge Mairaj, three of them were rescued. The body of 18-year-old Hamza was recovered by Tuesday evening. Another deceased, 34-year-old Mohammed Zeeshan, was found on Wednesday.

One of the survivors, Nawaz, said that they had come to visit Hyderabad. "We thought the water level was low in the canal and that we could swim easily. But the strong waves made it difficult for us to swim." All five hailed from Karachi.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 6^th, 2014.