Summary 18 of the bodies recovered have been handed over to the relatives after being identified.
KARACHI (Dunya News) – Eleven of the drowned picnickers still remain missing after being engulfed by the vicious tides of the sea on Karachi on Wednesday. The search operation is being carried out and divers of Pakistan Navy are engaged in finding the missing bodies.
25 bodies were recovered by day end on Thursday by the rescue teams. The search operation that was put on hold due to the dark has now been resumed and rescue teams are again determined to find the missing bodies.
23 bodies were recovered from the sea view and 2 from the Hawks Bay whereas 11 bodies are still missing. According to the police officials, 18 of the bodies recovered have been handed over to the relatives after being identified.
Earlier, Navy helicopters and coast guards continue the rescue operation for the missing bodies of the drowned from the rough seas of Karachi. Death toll in Sea View tragedy has reached 19 as six more bodies have been recovered by the rescue team on Thursday, Dunya News reported. The friends and family of the drowned victims have also gathered at the beach awaiting news from their missing dear ones.
The administration had imposed ban under Section 144 on entering or bathing in the sea. However, violating the ban, thousands of people rushed towards the city beaches on the second of Eid resulting in the unfortunate incident of drowning.
Thirty people went missing as the sea waves hit the Sea View area of Karachi on Wednesday.
The search operation was launched with the help of Navy helicopters as well as civil authorities who were successful in recovering twelve bodies till Wednesday midnight. The operation is still going on as Navy divers and the coast guards continue the search for drowned victims. Ten bodies have been identified and handed over to their relatives. The families of the missing victims have gathered at the beach anxiously waiting for a word from their loved ones. Security has been tightened at the beach and strict measures are being taken to prevent people from bathing in the sea. The security has appealed to the people not to defy the ban on entering the sea as during the monsoon the sea is rough and dangerous. Meanwhile, Chief Minister of Sindh, Syed Qaim Ali Shah has sought a detailed report about the incident.
According to the early reports, at least eleven people drowned as sea waves hit the Sea View area of Karachi on Wednesday. The Eid celebration soon turned into mourning but the city administration got itself off the hook by merely placing ‘awareness banners’ at the site.
Thousands of visitors take to the Sea View area every year in Eid for leisure and a little carelessness can prove fatal. Sea waves drowned nine people who had come at the site for leisure as part of Eid celebration.
Rescue officials arrived at the site but it was too late already. Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Clifton Doctor Asad said that banners cautioning the tourists to take safety measure have been placed at Sea View but the tourists often ignore it.
Among the dead is also 14-year-old Mazhar whose uncle said that he had gone to the sea along with friends for leisure.
Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) chief Altaf Hussain on Wednesday urged the government to take effective steps to protect citizens’ lives and properties.
MQM chief expressed grief over drowning of 12 citizens. In a statement issued from London, he said that the government should take every step to protect citizens’ lives and properties, adding that the security arrangements must be ensured.
