HARIPUR: Three people drowned here on Thursday, police said. Khanpur police quoted eyewitnesses as saying that a group of youngsters from Abbottabad were on a picnic to Khanpur dam and started bathing in the reservoir near old Masjid Rajgan.

Two of the immature swimmers, however, drowned whose bodies were fished out by the local divers, after an effort of a couple of hours.

The deceased were identified as Arsalan and Haseeb, residents of Salhad, Abbottabad.

In a similar incident the same day, another man later identified as Waheed, a resident of Chaklala Scheme III, Rawalpindi, also drowned in River Haro near Tarnawa bridge.

The River Haro is the main water source of the dam that also carries the seeping water of Khanpur dam, down to Attock area and is one of the attractions of tourists who prefer bathing near Tarnawa bridge.

Following drowning incidents that claimed three lives in a day, the Deputy Commissioner (DC). Haripur Khan Muhammad has banned swimming and bathing in the Khanpur dam reservoir and River Haro under section 144 CrPc for sixty days.

According to a handout issued by the DC office, the action of banning swimming activities in and around Khanpur dam and River Haro was taken for the safety of the life of picnickers.

The tourists were asked to desist from entering the water bodies.

Published in Dawn, June 21st, 2024