At least 10 students killed as boat capsizes in Kohat’s Tanda Dam

Deputy Commissioner (DC) Kohat Furqan Ashraf confirmed the tragic incident and said that the boat was carrying as many as 30 people and most of them were children.

As per the rescue sources, most of the people who were killed were kids.

DC Ashraf said that a team of divers has been called from Peshawar that will reach the spot in one to two hours.

He added that about 16 children who drowned were taken to the hospital while 11 have died.

The deputy commissioner also said that Pakistan Army’s rescue teams have also reached the site of the incident where relief operations are being carried out.

‘Rescue underway’
Local police official Mir Rauf told AFP all of the drowned so far recovered were aged between seven and 14.

A total of 17 were rescued alive from the reservoir by Sunday afternoon.

“Everything was normal until suddenly the boat overturned,” said 11-year-old survivor Muhammad Mustafa from his hospital bed in the nearby city of Kohat.

“I got stuck under the boat,” he told AFP. “My shawl and sweater weighed me down, so I took them off.”

“The water was extremely cold and my body went numb. I thought I was going to pass out when a man on an inflatable tube saved me.”

One of the rescued was a teacher, who remained unconscious as the rescue operation continued for up to three pupils still missing.

The class of madrassa students “went out for a picnic and boating” at the scenic location, district police chief Adbul Rauf told AFP.

“According to the information so far, the boat was in a dilapidated condition and it was overloaded too,” he said.

Ramshackle highways, lax safety measures and reckless driving contribute to Pakistan’s dire road safety record.

Passenger buses are frequently crammed to capacity and seatbelts are not commonly worn, meaning high death tolls from single-vehicle accidents are common.

In November, 20 people, including 11 children, were killed when a minibus crashed into a deep and water-logged ditch in southern Pakistan.

According to World Health Organisation estimates, more than 27,000 people were killed on Pakistan’s roads in 2018.

Mass drownings are also common in Pakistan, when aged and overloaded vessels lose their stability and pitch passengers into the water.

In July last year, at least 18 women drowned after an overloaded boat carrying about 100 members of the same family capsized during a marriage procession between two villages.

Article source: https://www.suchtv.pk/pakistan/kp-fata/item/118422-at-least-10-students-killed-as-boat-capsizes-in-kohat-s-tanda-dam.html