Five people, belonging to the same family, drowned off Hawkesbay beach on Monday, police and medical officials said.

City SSP Adeel Hussain Chandio told Dawn that the five persons had drowned near Nasir restaurant.

Initially, two teenaged girls, Dua Fatima, 16, and Hamna Imran, 14, were swept to dangerous waters by strong waves, where they drowned.

Zakir Husain, 42, father of Dua Fatima, tried to rescue the girls, but drowned trying. Two other persons, namely Usama, 20, and Amin, 22, also drowned while trying to rescue the three.

Though SSP Chandio told Dawn that the bodies of all five have been retrieved, the additional police surgeon at Civil Hospital Karachi, Dr Qarar Ahmed Abbasi, said that till late Monday evening, the bodies of only Zakir Hussain and his daughter, Fatima, had been brought to the hospital for legal formalities.

The tragedy occurred despite a ban on swimming by the provincial government.

Police officials said that a large number of people head to the beaches on public holidays, making it impossible for them to cope with the situation with their limited resources.