Owner, sailor held after boat capsizes

Police arrested a boat owner and the sailor in an incident that took place at Khanpur dam on Tuesday.

According to a Rescue 1122 spokesman, a group of 34 people, including 28 students and eight teachers from a private school of Rawalpindi, organised a picnic at Khanpur dam where they hired a boat to visit the lake.

Owing to the low water level in Khanpur Lake when the boat reached the mid of the lake, it struck an underwater rock and capsized.

Fortunately, all the persons on board had life jackets which saved them from drowning, except for female teacher Saliha Mushtaq, who died.

DPO Haripur Kshif Aftab Ahmad Abbasi met the affected teachers, students and school owner. They were safely shifted to their homes in ambulances. He directed DSP Circle Khanpur Jamilur Rehman and SHO Khanpur Police Station Chen Zeb Tanoli to look into the case.

Read: "Teacher dies as boat capsizes in dam"

On the report of plaintiff Faisal Mehmood, Khanpur police station registered a case against the owner and sailor Kaleemullah for overloading and negligence.

Meanwhile, the district administration sealed off the boating spot at Khanpur Dam in Haripur for an indefinite period on Tuesday.

Sources said that all boats at Khanpur Dam have been sealed and tourist activities there have been banned for an indefinite period. They added that if the children had not worn life jackets, many lives could have been lost.

In the past, a boat accident took place at Tarbela Dam, in which not a single passenger was wearing a life jacket, which caused more casualties.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 27^th, 2022.