Six kids missing after boat capsizes in canal

Four of 10 children swept away after a boat capsized in the Chashma-Jhelum Link Canal survived on Tuesday, while the search for the remaining was suspended late in the evening.

Rescue teams searched for the six missing children for several hours.

According to local residents, 10 children from the Peelo Vaince village in Noorpur Thal went to bathe in the canal, where a local fisherman’s boat was tied to the bank.

The children included Samiullah, Azizullah, Aftab, Waqas, Asad Ali and Shoaib Akram.

They reportedly took the unattended boat to go into the canal.

However, all of them fell into the canal after the boat capsized because of the flow of the water.

Four of the children swam to safety after the accident, while the six others were swept away towards deep water.

The district administration started an operation along with teams of the Rescue 1122 service, which continued till late evening.

No body was found or child rescued during the search operation that continued for several hours.

Thousands of people from across the Noorpur Thal reshil rushed to the canal after news of the drowning of children spread rapidly.

Member of Punjab Assembly Sardar Ali Hussain Baloch, Khushab Deputy Commissioner Zeeshan Rana, Noorpur Assistant Commissioner Haroon Akhtar and DSP Khalid Khan Niazi monitored the rescue operation along with district and tehsil administration officials.

The victims were said to be between 14 and 16 years old and were school students.

Two siblings are among the children missing after the incident.