All 15 bodies recovered from Muzaffargarh canal

MUZAFFARGARH:

Rescue teams on Monday recovered the bodies of three more children from the Muzaffargarh Canal, bringing to 15 the total number of victims retrieved after a rickshaw carrying wedding guests plunged into the canal in Kot Addu eight days ago.

According to Rescue 1122 sources, the recovery of the three bodies marked the completion of the search and rescue operation.

The tragedy occurred on August 10 in the Sanawan area of Kot Addu when an overloaded rickshaw carrying members of a family returning from a wedding went out of control and fell into the canal.

Twenty-six members of the same family were travelling in the rickshaw. Eleven people were rescued alive, while 15 others, 12 children and three women, drowned and went missing.

Following an eight-day operation, rescue teams recovered the bodies of all 15 victims from the canal.

The search operation involved 52 swimmers, 15 divers, 67 rescue workers and eight rescue boats. Modern equipment, including sonar technology, was also used during the operation.

With the recovery of all the missing victims, Rescue 1122 formally concluded the search operation.