THATTA: Thirteen picnickers — 10 women and three children — from a Karachi locality were in the boat that capsized close to the graves of Noori and Jam Tamachi in Keenjhar Lake, near here on Monday afternoon. Ten of the picnickers drowned while three siblings were rescued by local divers.

The fate of the two crew members of the motor vessel, belonging to the Mallah or Katiyar clan, could not be known till late in the evening. Police suspected that they might have swum away to escape.

Shahnawaz Brohi, president of the Pakistan Muslim League-Functional’s Thatta chapter, said that the ill-fated family were related to Usman Ghani, president of the PML-F South, Karachi.

Police told Dawn that the victims hailed from Chanesar Goth near Mehmoodabad in Karachi and originally came from Hazara division in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Victims belonged to local PML-F leader’s family

Those who drowned were identified as Sadia, 20, Alisha, 21, and Shaiza, 19, all sisters; Sabiha, 40, wife of Yousuf, Urooj, 21, daughter of Usman Ghani, Uzma, 25, wife of Umar, Maham, daughter of Usman Ghani, Nimra, 10, daughter of Usman Ghani, Eman, 11, daughter of Usman Ghani and Rubeena, 35, daughter of Usman Ghani.

The bodies were shifted to Karachi after medico-legal formalities at the Civil Hospital Makli.

Those who were rescued by divers were identified as Rasheeda, wife of Usman Ghani, Maheen, daughter of Mohammad Saeed and Musarat, wife of Mohammad Usman.

Bilawal orders relief operation

Meanwhile, PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, taking serious notice of the incident and expressing his deep condolence with the bereaved families, directed the administration to expedite the rescue and relief work.

PPP MPA Syed Riaz Hussain Shah Sheerazi, Deputy Commissioner of Thatta Usman Tanveer and SSP of Thatta Dr Imran Khan, who rushed to the site of the incident, said a thorough inquiry had been ordered into the tragedy and the police had started raids to arrest the crew, who are believed to have swum ashore after the incident.

Official in charge of the Sindh Tourism Development Corporation Keenjhar Lake Makhdoom Gulzar told this correspondent that the responsibility of such incidents lay with boat operators who mostly endanger picnickers’ lives by ferrying them in wooden boats meant for fishing.

Rais Arsalan Brohi, president of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf, Thatta, and local activist Dada Adam Gandhro complained that the overall performance of the relevant departments, including police and health, was not satisfactory and the boat operators did not follow the rules, including registration of their boats.

Published in Dawn, August 18th, 2020