KARACHI, June 16: At least five Karachiites drowned off Hawkesbay beach and three others in the Keenjhar lake while a local boy drowned in the Rice Canal on Sunday.
Two of the incidents took place early in the morning while a third one happened in the afternoon. The drowning victims were identified as 19-year-old Qaiser Zaidi, who lived along Sharea Faisal, 23-year-old Sharil Shahzad of Seaview in Defence and 40-year-old Faizul Hassan lived in Malir’s Sabir Colony. The bodies were retrieved and shifted to the Civil Hospital Karachi.
Another two drowning cases were reported by eyewitnesses off PNS Himalaya and the bodies were said to be retrieved from the water by relatives who then took them home without notifying the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation’s emergency rescue centre (ERC) at the beach or the police.
“Since it was a Sunday there were thousands of picnickers at the beach under the impression that the sea was calm in the mornings since they did not understand high-tide rotation. The men were swept away deeper into the sea when they decided to take a swim in the cold water,” said ERC head Mohammad Mairaj Khan.
He said the families of early morning victims Qaiser and Sharil had been picnicking with their families since around 5.30am. “It was still early and much before morning shift lifeguards were deployed at the beach when the victims’ families approached the ERC,” he said. “The lifeguards who were still there after night duty responded to the emergency.”
He said that the body of Qaiser Zaidi was pulled out at 8.30am from near Cape Monze where he had drowned and the body of Sharil Shahzad was found at around 10.30am from near Nathia Gali.
The third reported victim, Faizul Hassan, drowned at about 1pm, said the ERC head. “He was spotted by one of the lifeguards who then dived in to rescue him. But the victim had swallowed too much water by then and was driven to the hospital in his own car in the absence of any emergency vehicle. By the time he reached the Civil Hospital at around 2.30pm he was pronounced dead,” said Mr Mairaj.
He explained that the KMC lifeguards were deployed at the beach at 8.30am at various points on the shore so that they were able to cover the entire beach. They returned to the centre after sunset since rescue could not take place in the dark anyway.
The chief lifeguard complained of lack of support from the law-enforcement agencies. “Unfortunately, we are not getting any support from the police this year to stop people from going into the water during these dangerous monsoon months. They haven't even imposed Section 144 as yet to prevent people from getting into the water. There is also no awareness campaign this time.”
Moreover, Mr Mairaj said the behavior of the victims’ families also did not help matters. “When a lifeguard is trying to do his job and giving a victim first aid, family members become violent and try to stop him. There should be police personnel on the beach to hold families back while rescue work is under way,” he said.
Meanwhile, the tragedies prompted the authorities to take notice and Sindh chief secretary Muhammad Ijaz Chaudhry directed the Karachi commissioner to impose Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code to impose a ban on swimming in the sea.
He also issued directions to the both the KMC commissioner and administrator to ensure safety and precautionary measures at beaches to save precious lives during high-tide season.
Keenjhar Lake tragedy Meanwhile, in the rest of Sindh, four more people drowned while bathing in the Keenjhar lake and Rice Canal in Naudero, PPI adds.
Three picnickers from Karachi drowned in the Keenjhar Lake while bathing in it. Their bodies were fished out after hectic efforts by locals.
The victims were identified as Ahad Shabir, Azeem and Waseem Ahmed. They were the residents of the Golimar and Lyari areas. The bodies were shifted to Karachi and handed over to the victims’ families after medico-legal formalities.
In yet another incident, a boy drowned in the Rice Canal, within the remit of the Naudero police station.
The victim, Allah Rakhyo, a resident of Allahnado Jeho village, had gone to the canal with his friends and had also been bathing when he drowned in it. Villagers rushed to the scene when they learned about the incident and tried to retrieve his body but failed.
This was the third such incident within the limits of the Naundero police station this week.