Two children among the victims; teenager missing after tragedies at Sandspit, Korangi Causeway
KARACHI:
A day of relief from the city’s sweltering heat turned tragic on Sunday when five people, including two children, drowned in separate incidents at Sandspit and Korangi Causeway, as rescue teams continued their search for a missing teenager.
The deadliest incidents occurred at two locations along Sandspit beach in the Mauripur region, where three young men were swept away by strong sea currents while swimming. Rescuers, Edhi rescuers and Pakistan Navy divers managed to pull two of them out of the water in critical condition, but one of them later succumbed to his injuries while being shifted to the civil hospital.
According to Sandspit police station in-charge Arif Khan, the victims were identified as Raheem, 31, and Sameer, 32, residents of Falaknaz Apartments in Malir. The group had arrived at Sandspit late at night for a picnic and stayed in a beach hut before entering the sea early in the morning.
The incident occurred near the S-10 and S-31 shelters around 8 a.m. Rescue officials said efforts were underway to locate the third victim, identified as Muhammad Yousaf, 17, son of Ranchore Line Jubilee resident Muhammad Naveed. It would have disappeared after being swept away by the waves.
In another incident, two children drowned while bathing in a stream near Korangi Causeway.
Police and 1122 rescue officials said four to five children had gone for a picnic in the area to escape the intense heat when two of them slipped into deep waters and drowned.
After receiving information, police arrived at the scene and called Rescue 1122 divers, who launched a search operation and recovered the bodies. The deceased were identified as Salar, 10, son of Muhammad Imtiaz, and Fahad Hussain, 12, son of Khurshid Ahmed.
According to Rescue 1122, the bodies were transported to the hospital via a Chhipa ambulance for legal formalities before being handed over to the families.
Korangi Industrial Area SHO Hakam Dad said the two children were residents of Manzoor Colony. Following the incident, their friends alerted the police, leading to the recovery operation.
These tragedies come as large numbers of Karachi residents continue to flock to beaches, rivers and other bodies of water to seek respite from the ongoing heatwave, despite repeated warnings about dangerous currents and dangerous swimming conditions.
