At least four people drowned as a boat overturned in the Chenab River in the area of Jalpur Pirwala of the Punjab Fullan District on Saturday in the midst of flood evacuation, according to the officials.
The spokesman for the Fuling District, Wasim Yousuf, said Dawn.com: “Three children and a woman died after a rescue boat 1122 overturned in the Chenab River in Jalpur Pirwala.”
The initial department report explained that the boat had hit a tree and overturned due to the strong water flow, along with the women and children on board that could not maintain their balance, while evacuating people in the waters of floods in Jalalpur Pirwala.
He added that most women and children were aboard the boat and the depth of the water was 15 to 20 feet.
The report says that the staff launched search and rescue operations and four bodies were recovered, while the rest of the people recovered. “The search for lines and the search for boats are being carried out in different places to find a child,” he said.
A statement from the department said that Rescue Secretary 1122, Dr. Rizwan Naseer, expressed his pain for death and ordered the divisional emergency officer to immediately share the incident report.
The finen commissioner, Aamir Karim Khan, also expressed pain for deaths and extended his condolences to the families of the deceased.
The general director of the Punjab Disaster Management Authority, Irfan Kathia, ordered the best medical assistance to the injured.
“The evacuation of the victims must be safe in a flood situation. There should be no overload in private ships or rescue boats,” he ordered.
Punjab Prime Minister Maryam Nawaz realized the incident and extended his condolences to the families of the victims.
Rescue 1122 said he had rescued more than 9,000 people in flood operations only from fine, while more than 350,000 people and more than 300,000 animals had been evacuated in advance.
