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 to search for a missing teenager.
The deadliest incidents occurred at two locations along Sandspit Beach in the Mauripur area, where three young men were swept away by strong ocean currents while swimming. Lifeguards, Edhi rescuers and Pakistan Navy divers managed to pull two of them out of the water in critical condition, but one later succumbed to his injuries while being shifted to the Civil Hospital.
According to Sandspit police post officer Arif Khan, the victims were identified as 31-year-old Raheem and 32-year-old Sameer, residents of Falaknaz Apartments in Malir. The group had arrived at Sandspit late in the evening for a picnic and stayed in a beach hut before heading out into the sea early in the morning.
The incident took place near cabins S-10 and S-31 around 8:00 am. Rescue officials said efforts were on to locate the third victim, identified as 17-year-old Muhammad Yousaf, son of Muhammad Naveed, a resident of Ranchore Line Jubilee. He reportedly disappeared after being swept away by the waves.
In a separate incident, two children drowned while swimming in a stream near the Korangi Causeway.
Police and the 1122 rescue service said four to five children had gone to the area for a picnic to escape the intense heat when two of them slipped into deep water and drowned.
After receiving information, the police reached the spot and called Rescue 1122 divers, who launched a search operation and recovered the bodies. The deceased were identified as 10-year-old Salar, son of Muhammad Imtiaz, and 12-year-old Fahad Hussain, son of Khurshid Ahmed.
According to Rescue 1122, the bodies were shifted to the hospital through a Chhipa ambulance for legal formalities before being handed over to the families.
Korangi Industrial Area SHO Hakam Dad said both the children were residents of Manzoor Colony. After the incident, their friends alerted the police, which led to the recovery operation.
The 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 heat wave, despite repeated warnings of dangerous currents and unsafe swimming conditions.
