20 drown as boat capsizes in Indus

90 rescued as search continues for over 30 missing persons

At least 20 people died, most of them women, and another 30 were missing after a boat carrying more than 100 people capsized in the Indus river in Rahimyar Khan district on Monday, officials said.

The overloaded boat was heading to a wedding when it capsized in the Indus river near Sadiqabad, the government said in a statement. Nearly 90 people were rescued by divers, the statement said, adding that the passengers were mostly women and children.

All those on board belonged to the Solangi caste, and they were on their way from Mochka to a family wedding across the river in Sardarpur in Union Council Kahror wali in Rojhan Tehsil, local officials said.

Also read: Four minors missing after boat capsizes

“We have retrieved 20 bodies so far” and most of them were women, local government official Aslam Tasleem told a news TV channel. “We’re not sure how many people exactly were on the boat. We’re getting the estimates just on the basis of the family members’ accounts,” he said.

Nearly 35 divers from a state-run rescue service took part in an operation to find and save more people who were in the river, the statement said. Local divers from the areas close by also joined the rescue operation, according to witnesses.

The local authorities had identified three bodies, 18-year-old Shabana, 22-year-old Hamidan, and 14-year-old Allah Dani, so far. The identification process was ongoing, and the bodies were being handed over to their relatives for burial, an official said.

Punjab Chief Minister Hamza Shehbaz, while taking note of the incident, expressed regret and condoled with the bereaved families. He ordered the district administration to speed up the rescue operation to search for the missing persons as soon as possible.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also sent his condolences to the bereaved families over the drowning of 19 people.

(REUTERS WITH INPUT FROM OUR RAHIMYAR KHAN CORRESPONDENT NOOR SOOMRO)