Rahim Yar Khan: The death toll in the tragic incident when a boat going to the wedding ceremony capsized has risen to 26. The Deputy Commissioner gave this information on Wednesday.
According to the Deputy Commissioner, three more bodies were pulled out of the river after which the death toll increased.
He said that the search operation for 23 missing people is going on and 18 divers of Pakistan Army are taking part in it.
On Monday, 23 people drowned and dozens were missing after a crowded boat carrying a wedding party capsized on Monday, officials said.
According to police and local officials, the boat was carrying around 100 members of a family across the Indus river in a procession between Machka and Kharor villages in Punjab province’s Sadiqabad sub-district.
According to Sadiqabad spokesman Rana Kashif Mahmood, eighteen women were “confirmed dead” and 25 to 30 were “rescued by locals “either by locals who live along the river or have managed to swim to the shore”.
Police officer Mohamed Hammad said “most of those who drowned are women” because “most of the men knew how to swim”.
“The death toll could rise,” he said at the time.
Villagers in rural Pakistan often use boats to travel, often avoiding the high cost of automobile transport on dilapidated roads far from their homes.
– With additional input from AFP