Five drown as heat drives crowds to water

A day of relief from the city's sweltering heat turned tragic on Sunday as five people, including two children, drowned in separate incidents at Sandspit and Korangi Causeway, while rescue teams continued searching for a missing teenager.

The deadliest incidents occurred at two locations along the Sandspit beach in the Mauripur area, where three young men were swept away by strong sea currents while bathing. Lifeguards, Edhi rescuers and Pakistan Navy divers managed to pull two of them from the water in critical condition, but one later succumbed to his injuries while being shifted to Civil Hospital.

According to Sandspit police post in-charge Arif Khan, the victims were identified as 31-year-old Raheem and 32-year-old Sameer, residents of Falaknaz Apartments in Malir. The group had arrived at Sandspit late at night for a picnic and stayed at a beach hut before entering the sea early in the morning.

The incident took place near huts S-10 and S-31 at around 8am. Rescue officials said efforts were underway to locate the third victim, identified as 17-year-old Muhammad Yousaf, son of Muhammad Naveed, a resident of Ranchore Line Jubilee. He reportedly went missing after being swept away by the waves.

In a separate incident, two children drowned while bathing in a stream near Korangi Causeway.

Police and Rescue 1122 officials said four to five children had gone to the area for a picnic to escape the intense heat when two of them slipped into deep water and drowned.

Upon receiving information, police reached the scene and called Rescue 1122 divers, who launched a search operation and recovered the bodies. The deceased were identified as 10-year-old Salar, son of Muhammad Imtiaz, and 12-year-old Fahad Hussain, son of Khurshid Ahmed.

According to Rescue 1122, the bodies were shifted to hospital through a Chhipa ambulance for legal formalities before being handed over to the families.

Korangi Industrial Area SHO Hakam Dad said both children were residents of Manzoor Colony. Following the incident, their friends alerted police, leading to the recovery operation.

The tragedies come as large numbers of Karachi residents continue flocking to beaches, rivers and other water bodies to seek respite from the ongoing heatwave, despite repeated warnings about dangerous currents and unsafe swimming conditions.