KARACHI: The bodies of two boys drowned off Gadani beach a day earlier recovered on Saturday, rescue officials said.

The bodies of nine-year-old Aman and 11-year-old Sufyan were recovered and handed over to their families, said a spokesperson for the Edhi Foundation.

Six people — three women and as many children — of a family drowned in the sea near Gadani, as a picnic of Lyari residents turned into a deadly episode at the popular Balochistan coastal spot where a huge wave swept away a total of seven persons; only one could be saved by the rescue workers on Friday afternoon.

The victims included a mother and her three children.

The residents of Kalri area of Lyari had gone for a picnic at Gadani beach when a strong wave initially took away the children. As the women tried to rescue the children, they were also taken away by the waves.

Edhi volunteers and Pak Navy teams launched a rescue operation with the help of a PN helicopter and managed to retrieve bodies of three women and one girl child on Friday.

The bodies of the two children, stated to be brothers, could not be recovered till Friday evening and the rescue operation was suspended owing to darkness.

On Saturday, rescuers resumed their operation and recovered the two bodies.

Edhi Foundation spokesperson Anwar Kazmi told Dawn that the Gadani beach was generally considered as dangerous by experts and local people owing to unexpected waves.

He recalled that in the past, 18 members of the same family, including children and women, drowned there.

Published in Dawn, June 24th, 2018