13 boat victims laid to rest

Probe ordered, search operation underway for missing persons

RAHIM YAR KHAN:

Funeral prayers were performed for 13 people who died after a boat capsized in the Indus River near Mochka. Meanwhile, rescue operations to find 28 missing persons continued for the second day, during which the body of one more woman was found.

According to details, a boat carrying dozens of wedding guests overturned near Mochka on July 18th, after which the bodies of 19 people were recovered from the river. Later, two more bodies, belonging to children, were found. On the second day of the rescue operation on July 19th, the body of another woman was recovered.

Meanwhile, a video of the boat capsising also surfaced, where it can be clearly seen that the number of passengers on board far exceeded the capacity of the two boats, one of which capsized near the shore.

Seeing the boat overturning, passengers on the other boat jumped into the river to provide aid, while locals managed to control both boats with the help of ropes from the shore. Despite their best efforts, many people drowned in the river when the boat overturned.

So far, bodies of 22 people have been retrieved from the river, while a search operation is ongoing for the remaining 28 people. Hundreds of people participated in the funeral prayers on Tuesday.

Deputy Commissioner Syed Musa Raza and DPO Akhtar Farooq visited the incident site along the Indus River, to review the ongoing search and rescue operations. Assistant Commissioner Muhammad Saleem Asi and District Emergency Officer Dr. Adil Rehman gave a briefing about the rescue operation.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Chief Minister Punjab Hamza Shehbaz also expressed their grief over the tragic incident. The Punjab government constituted a high-level committee to inquire into the boat incident. In the light of the committee’s recommendations, steps will be taken to prevent such accidents in the future. Overcrowding in a boat is criminal negligence, the CM said, adding that action should be taken by determining those responsible. He added that the rescue operation should be continued until the last missing person is found.

Rescue-1122, Police and revenue staff carried out the search for missing persons with the support of locals. DPO Akhtar Farooq added that Pakistan Army divers will also join the rescue teams soon. The Sindh government is also being contacted to help in the search for the missing persons in the boat accident.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 20^th, 2022.