Five people drowned like a boat overturned in the Chenab River in the Jalpur Pirwala area of the Punjab Fullan District on Saturday in the midst of flood evacuation, according to officials.
The attached commissioner of fine (DC) Wasim Hamid Sindhu and the city police officer (CPO) Sadiq Ali Dragar later arrived at the site for an inspection and were informed by the officials present present there.
“The causes of the ship’s accident are being examined carefully. Initially, five deaths have been confirmed, including children aboard the boat,” said DC Sindhu in a statement. A declaration of the Provincial Authority of Disaster Management (PDMA) also put the toll in five.
He ordered the rescue authorities to immediately intensify the search operation. “Rescue operations are being carried out to look for more people aboard the boat,” Sindhu said.
Meanwhile, Cpo Dogar said the police teams were providing full support to rescue 1122 and the initial reasons for the ship’s accident included the darkness and flooded routes.
Rescue 1122’s initial report explained that the boat had hit a tree and overturned due to the strong flow of water, along with women and children on board that could not maintain their balance, while evacuating people from the waters of floods in Jalpur 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 Punjab Pdma, Irfan Kathia, ordered that the best medical assistance to the injured be provided.
“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.
