12 wedding guests killed in canal plunge

KOT ADDU:

At least 12 people were killed and 11 others rescued after a loader rickshaw carrying a wedding party plunged into the Muzaffargarh Canal near Sanawan as a rescue operation entered its second day on Tuesday to trace three passengers who remain missing.

The incident turned a wedding celebration into mourning after the loader rickshaw, carrying 26 men, women and children, reportedly lost control during a race with another vehicle and fell into the canal near Sheikh Sugar Mills.

Rescue teams from Kot Addu and Muzaffargarh immediately launched a large-scale search and rescue operation, recovering 12 bodies and rescuing 11 people alive.

The three missing persons have been identified as 12-year-old Muhammad Usman, Muhammad Yasir and Shakir.

Rescue teams are continuing the search using four boats and scuba divers, while Deputy Commissioner Bilal Saleem and District Police Officer Mansoor Qamar are personally supervising the operation at the site.

According to details, members of the Mashori community, including former councillor Ghulam Shabbir, residents of the area near Sheikh Sugar Mills, were returning on three loader rickshaws after attending a Nikah ceremony a short distance from their homes.

The ill-fated rickshaw was reportedly involved in a race when its driver lost control and the vehicle plunged into the Muzaffargarh Canal. A total of 26 people, including women, men and children, were said to be travelling in the vehicle.

Rescue officials said the bodies recovered so far were those of Dalawar, son of Abdul Rashid, 14; Muneeb, son of Rashid, 7; Sakina Bibi, wife of Allah Ditta, 58; Sameera Bibi, daughter of Muhammad Shafiq, 15; Muhammad Saim, son of Muhammad Iqbal; Muhammad Thabitain, son of Musharraf, 7; Raju, son of Muhammad Iqbal, 9; Zarif, son of Wazir Ahmed, 11; Iqbal Bibi, wife of Fida Hussain, 35; Kaleemullah, son of Bashir Ahmed, 13; Muhammad Jalal, son of Muhammad Iqbal, 12; and Muhammad Ali, son of Muhammad Shafiq, 5.

Eleven people were rescued alive by the rescue teams, while three others remain missing. They have been identified as Muhammad Usman, son of Ghulam Fareed, 12, Muhammad Yasir, son of Fida Hussain and Shakir, son of Ashiq Hussain.

Rescue teams are continuing the search for the missing passengers using four boats and scuba-diving equipment.

According to rescue officials, the canal is between 12 and 15 feet deep, while its water flow is estimated at between 3,000 and 5,000 cusecs. The teams have so far searched an area spanning approximately 20 kilometres.

At the request of local residents, the water level in the Muzaffargarh Canal was also reduced, making the search operation easier.

Meanwhile, the body of another child was recovered from a small link canal branching off from the Muzaffargarh Canal after local residents spotted it floating in the water and retrieved it.

The funeral prayers of the deceased were offered in their respective native areas, where grieving families and residents mourned the victims. The house from which the wedding party had departed amid celebrations was now filled with mourning, while an atmosphere of grief prevailed throughout the area.

Following the tragic incident, Kot Addu Deputy Commissioner Bilal Saleem and DPO Mansoor Qamar remained at the site and supervised the search operation.

An incident command post has also been established under the supervision of District Emergency Officer Dr Muhammad Irshad-ul-Haq to oversee relief and rescue activities.

Despite two days having passed since the rescue operation began, the search for the three missing people remains underway, with rescue teams using all available resources to locate them.