KARACHI: Despite a ban on swimming in the sea, 12 people, including two teenagers and a 12-year-old boy, drowned while bathing at the Sandspit beach on Saturday evening.

While Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah took notice of the tragedy, Karachi Mayor Wasim Akhtar criticised the administration for not enforcing the swimming ban effectively.

As such tragedies are taking place almost every weekend or on a holiday, rescue organisations urged the authorities to restrict picnickers from coming to city beaches during the current season when waters are rough.

The Mauripur police said that two families reached the Sandspit beach, also known as Turtle beach, from the Nazimabad area for picnic.

DIG South Azad Khan told Dawn that a minor boy got trapped in a whirlpool and cried for help. Other members of the two families tried to rescue him but 11 of them, along with the child, were taken away by the strong current, he added.

He said that the picnickers were repeatedly asked not to swim in the sea and at one point they sat in their vehicle to return to their homes. However, the child got trapped in the whirlpool, forcing other family members to attempt his rescue.

The DIG said it was a long coastal stretch and sometimes it appeared “undesirable” to prevent the families from enjoying the beach.

CM takes notice of tragedy; mayor claims 30 lifeguards tried to rescue the victims who got trapped in a whirlpool

He said that the officer in charge of the beach police post, Sub-Inspector Ismail, was suspended over his failure to implement the ban on swimming.

An Edhi Foundation spokesperson, Saad Edhi, told Dawn that all 12 bodies had been recovered and moved to a hospital for fulfilling required formalities.

The victims were identified as Saud Shoaib (50), his son Ebad Saud (15), daughter Fiza Saud (17), two brothers — Umair Jamil (35) and Hamza Jamil (12) — Wahaj Shahzad (27), Ali Noor (25), Taha Minhaj (20), Atif Naseem (30), Ali Sameer (26), Amar Jamil (20) and Waqar Yusuf (35)

Mr Edhi said that the sea was extremely rough these days owing to which they tended to recover bodies almost on every weekend.

‘33 people drowned in one month’

“During the last one month, total 33 people have drowned whose bodies were recovered,” he said.

He suggested that the authorities concerned should not allow picnickers to come close to the beach especially during this rough season. “The government should find a way to restrict arrival of the picnickers to avoid such tragedies in future.”

Meanwhile, Mayor Akhtar said that the provincial government had imposed a ban on swimming in the sea under Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code but despite this the administration failed to implement it.

“Immediate steps are needed at the beaches to prevent such tragedies,” he said.

He pointed out that there were at least 30 lifeguards who tried to save the victims who got trapped in the whirlpool and drowned.

Earlier this year, taking notice of growing drowning incidents off the city’s beaches the Sindh government had imposed a ban on swimming for six months. A Sindh home department notification stated that owing to the heatwave, people flocked to the beaches for recreation and that most people waded into the sea but because of turbulent waves, many people drowned.

To ensure public safety, which may be jeopardised when entering the sea, necessary measures were required to be put in place. Therefore, the Sindh government imposed a ban on wading/swimming/diving in the sea off the beaches of Karachi for six months with immediate effect.

The SHOs of all relevant police stations had been authorised to register complaints under Section 188 of the Pakistan Penal Code against violators of this notification. The relevant SSPs were also directed to ensure implementation of this order in letter and spirit, concluded the notification.

However, CM Shah took notice of an apparent failure of the authorities in enforcing the ban, as he sought a report from the home secretary about it.

“Was Section 144 imposed against swimming in the sea,” asked the CM. He asked if there were any signboards with warning against swimming in the sea at the beaches.

“How [did] this incident occur; I want a detailed report about it,” he said.

He also expressed sympathy with the grieved families.

Published in Dawn, September 10th, 2017