Passengers rescued from stranded boat in Tarbela

Sources say vessel got stuck in the swamp at Bet Gali area due to falling water levels

HARIPUR:

All 120 passengers, including women and children, trapped in a boat stuck in the swamp of Tarbela Dam lake at Bet Gali, were successfully rescued by district authorities on Sunday. These passengers were returning to Haripur from a remote area at the time of the incident.

The boat, carrying passengers, became stuck in the swamp due to a decrease in the water level at Terbela Dam. The boat was en route from Torghar to Haripur and got trapped in the swamp near Chandni Chowk.

The passengers, including women and children, were stranded for four hours. Even after three hours, rescue teams had not reached the site. It was reported that the boat was carrying passengers beyond its capacity of around 70 passengers.

Earlier, no rescue operation team had been dispatched to the site to extract the boat, but local residents reported that other boat owners and boatmen were on their way to assist in rescuing the stranded passenger boat.

Upon learning about the incident, the district administration promptly took action. The Deputy Commissioner (DC) immediately instructed the Haripur Assistant Commissioner (AC) to reach the site immediately with the Rescue 1122 team. Some passengers were transferred to rescue boats to alleviate the load and safely transport the boats to the shore. The boat was carrying passengers beyond its capacity and violated safety protocols.

After completing the rescue operation, the passengers were provided with food and water, and the police were directed to arrest the boat operators and other involved individuals, initiating legal action against them.

The Haripur AC supervised the rescue operation. The rescue operation involved the district administration, Rescue 1122, the police, and revenue staff, and all the passengers were safely rescued.

After more than an hour of rescue operations, all passengers were safely evacuated and transported to a secure location. A statement from the district administration confirmed that all the passengers were safely rescued.

Later, the police managed to arrest sailor Ali Zaman.

Four years ago, a similar boat accident occurred at the same location, resulting in the loss of dozens of valuable lives, and the bodies of the victims have not been recovered yet.

Local residents say that due to the reduced water level in the Tarbela Dam and the lake, the boatmen are facing difficulties operating boats in the water. As of now, there is concern that due to the inefficiency of the Haripur district administration, precious lives may be lost.