Kohat boat tragedy

Official reports now claim that 52 students, including a teacher and skipper — have died after their overloaded boat capsized in Kohat’s Tanda Dam. These madrassa going boys were between the ages of seven and fourteen and had taken a day trip to the scenic Tanda Dam lake when tragedy struck. Divers and rescue officials spent the next three days recovering bodies from the freezing water.

There are some survivors who have told the horrifying account of what happened from their perspective as officials claim that people onboard the vessel was more than its capacity of carrying 20-25 persons. While the incident is extremely tragic for families and parents who have lost their loved ones, such incidents that result in loss of life and drowning are common in Pakistan. In July last year, at least 18 women drowned after an overloaded boat carrying about 100 members of the same family capsized during a marriage procession. People do not realise that overloaded vessels have a high tendency to lose stability and throw passengers into the water or even sink. This calls for greater regulation on boats and ships that operate in water bodies. In order to mitigate the issue, the provincial government must carry out a checking operation in which all such vessels are thoroughly examined to meet basic safety guidelines. For informal boats, a set of guidelines must be formulated with the help of engineers and relevant experts. It must also be assured that those operating the vessels are well aware of emergency SOPs.

Prudent and precautionary measures can help prevent such avoidable disasters. It is about time that provincial governments start to invest in emergency systems so that reaction and response is up to the mark.