MUZAFFARABAD: A man from Faisalabad and his son drowned in the Jhelum River on Wednesday, police said, but their bodies could not be retrieved until late in the evening.

Civil Secretariat Station House Officer (SHO) Rashid Habib Masoodi, told Dawn that eight members of a family – a couple, their five children and another relative, had stopped by the riverbank near Seri More, some 8 kilometres south of Muzaffarabad along the Muzaffarabad-Kohala highway.

The man, identified as Mohsin, and his son, Abdullah, were on a rock at the riverbank when they drowned, at around 12:45pm.

“I was told that he leaned towards the water, presumably to wash his hands or face, and he lost balance and fell into the river along with his son and both were swept away by the current instantly,” Mr Masoodi said.

He said the rest of the family members saw the duo appearing and disappearing on the surface of water but lost sight of them after 250 metres.

He said the police rushed local rescuers to retrieve the bodies but to no avail.

The recovery mission had to be stopped after sunset and will resume on Thursday, he added.

Published in Dawn, January 10th, 2019