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A picnic party of seven young friends turned into a tragedy over the Eid weekend as two of them drowned off Karachi's Sandspit beach on Sunday morning. Their bodies were recovered on Monday, officials said.
According to Mauripur SHO Mohammed Iqbal, the seven friends had left their homes in two cars for a day out early Sunday morning. They had breakfast at around 5:00am at Boat Basin and arrived at Sandspit at about 6:00am.
A watchman of a nearby hut tried to persuade the youths not to swim at the spot as it was considered dangerous. Fishermen of nearby villages also asked them to avoid swimming there, the officer said.
At one point, the youths left the place. However, after an apparent change of heart, they returned to the beach after a while and started swimming. It was at this moment that strong waves swept away two young men, while five others were saved.
See: What makes Karachi’s beaches so dangerous
On Monday morning, the bodies of 20-year-old Faraz, and Osama, 19, were recovered and handed over to their relatives in North Nazimabad and F.B. Area, respectively, after fulfilling legal formalities.
The relatives of the victims alleged that no lifeguard was available at the beach when the tragedy occurred, while a ban on swimming was also not being implemented.
Talking to Dawn, SHO Iqbal said that while it was true that a ban has been imposed on swimming as the waters are currently rough, it was not possible for them to implement the same in an area spread over 44 kilometres where hundreds of thousands of people arrived in thousands of vehicles.
The officer also revealed that lifeguards were not available at the beach as it was early in the morning.
He advised citizens not to take the risk of swimming at beaches, particularly during this rough season when seawater inundates even roads at Hawksbay.
Police officials have repeatedly complained in the past 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.
