• Boat meant for 45 people was carrying over 90 people when it capsized
• Survivor says plank fell out of the hull

DADU/RAHIM YAR KHAN: At least 26 people were laid to rest in their na­­tive village Hussain Ba­­khsh Solangi near Machke in Sin­dh and 27 remained missing despite rescue operations a day after a tragic boat accident in the Indus River near Rahim Yar Khan claimed the lives of over two dozen people.

The funeral prayers were attended by clan chief Sardar Abbas Khan Solangi who con­­firmed to Dawn that pray­ers for at least 26 people, inc­luding two children and a wo­man whose bodies were fi­­shed out later on, were offe­r­­ed at their ancestral graveyard.

Mr Solangi demanded compensation from Sindh and Punjab (where the incident took place) governments as he blamed them for failure to construct bridges in the area forcing people to use worn-out wooden boats to cross the river.

Dozens remained missing despite the passage of over a day after the capsizing incident, and their relatives waited on the banks of the Indus with hopes for the success of the rescue operation launched to retrieve the remaining bodies.

However, rescuers did not have much luck on Tuesday. A contingent of 18 Pakistan Army divers from Mangla also arrived in Rahim Yar Khan to take part in the rescue operation, according to the Rahim Yar Khan deputy commissioner.

The accident occurred on Monday when a wedding party was returning to Machke from Khrore village in two boats. One of the boats was overloaded and capsized after one of the planks in its hull fell apart, a cousin of the groom told Dawn. Muhammad Hussain said mostly women and children of his family drowned as only the men were rescued in the initial efforts. Mr Hussain said eight members of a single-family drowned in the accident along with their relatives — all belonged to the Solangi clan.

Ghulam Hussain, an uncle of the groom, said all his relatives were on board the boat for the wedding function and they normally used boats for crossing the Indus. He said it was a sudden accident that’s why the men in the boat could not rescue the women and children.

Mr Raza said the boat, which was overturned, had a capacity of only 40 to 45 passengers but 95 passengers were on board when it capsized.

He added a body was recovered on Tuesday and handed over to the family while further efforts to retrieve the remaining bodies will resume today.According to the RYK deputy commissioner, about 95-100 people were travelling on the boat when it met the accident in the river. Out of them, 45 people had been rescued in initial efforts; dead bodies of 22 were fished out by the rescue officials whereas 27 people remained missing till the filing of this report.

He said he had recomm­ended financial support for the families of the dece­ased but the decision rested with the Punjab government.

Rescue 1122 spokesperson Adnan Shabbir told this correspondent that due to recent rains in the area, the passage to reach the accident spot was rough and they used tractors to transport their vehicles which delayed the rescue efforts.

Published in Dawn, July 20th, 2022