12 drown during picnic at Karachi Hawksbay beach
karachi — At least 12 people, including three teenagers, of two families drowned at Karachi’s Hawksbay beach after they were swept away by strong waves, police officials said.
Police official Ijaz Khokhar said initially two people drowned on Saturday evening after enjoying a picnic at the beach and the others died trying to rescue them.
He said rescuers have transported the bodies of the 12 “ill-fated picnickers” to a Karachi hospital.
Mohammad Tahir Iqbal, an official at Pakistan’s largest private Edhi ambulance service, said at least seven of the dead belonged to the same family.
Such incidents have occurred before at Karachi’s beaches where people often disregard warnings from authorities.
The incident occurred when the families were picnicking at the popular beach despite the ban on swimming imposed by the provincial government’s Home Department during the monsoon season due to rough waters. Sharing details
at one point, they (family member) had even started getting into their vehicle to leave. However, one child apparently got stuck in a ‘ditch’ which led to this unfortunate incident.
Azad Khan, Police official
of the incident, Karachi-South DIG Azad Khan told Dawn online that the tragedy occurred when one child got stuck in a ‘whirlpool’ near Turtle Beach and the others drowned while trying to save the child.
The deceased include a man, his teenage son and daughter, and two brothers, he added.
He said that the family members were prevented from swimming “many times” and at one point, they had even started getting into their vehicle to leave. “However, one child apparently got stuck in a ‘ditch’ which led to this unfortu- nate incident.” The senior police official said that the beach police post in-charge, sub-inspector Ismail, has been suspended over his failure to implement the ban on swimming.
Saad Edhi, of Edhi Foundation, said all 12 bodies have been recovered and sent to the hospital for fulfilling legal formalities. “During the last month, at least 33 people have drowned whose bodies were recovered from the city’s beaches,” Edhi told. He said the authorities should bar the picnickers from coming to the beach, especially during this rough season.