Police announced on Tuesday that 49 children had perished when their overloaded boat capsized in northwest Pakistan after three days of corpses dragging in the freezing water.
The 49 children, who ranged in age from seven to fourteen, were all madrassa students who had been taken on Sunday for a day trip to the lovely Tanda Dam lake.
“The water of the dam was freezing due to cold weather that impeded the rescue mission. But today the divers were able to dive deep to recover the remaining bodies,” said Khateer Ahmad, a senior official with Rescue 1122.
He continued, stating that the bodies of a teacher and a skipper had also been recovered from the ocean, bringing the total death toll to 51.
A large number of parents and relatives have gathered during the last few days, according to Muhammad Umar, who sells tea at a picnic site facing the well-known weekend tourist attraction.
“Every time a body was recovered from the scene, they would jump onto the diver to see if it was their son and every time we would hear them screaming in pain and anguish,” he told AFP over the phone on Tuesday.
“I have not witnessed such scenes in my life, it’s something that can’t be explained in words.”
The madrassa, a free Islamic school in Kohat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, is located around five kilometres (3 miles) from Tanda Dam Lake.
Police spokesperson Fazal Naeem announced the new death toll after the rescue effort was completed on Tuesday. This was also verified by the military’s press office.
Naeem told AFP, “The boat was overloaded; its capacity was around 20 to 25 persons.”
He revealed that five people, including four kids and one instructor, were rescued.
The Pakistani army posted pictures of divers traversing the lake in rubber dinghies and diving into the emerald waters to retrieve children’s bodies.
Muhammad Mustafa, 11, a survivor, stated to AFP on Sunday from his hospital bed, “I got stuck under the boat.
“My shawl and sweater weighed me down, so I took them off.
“The water was extremely cold and my body went numb. I thought I was going to pass out when a man on an inflatable tube saved me.”
Drownings frequently occur in Pakistan as a result of passengers being thrown into the water by unstable, overloaded, and old vessels.
In July of last year, during a wedding procession between two villages, a boat carrying over 100 members of the same family overturned, resulting in at least 18 women drowning.
