KARACHI: Bodies of two of the four pupils of a seminary who drowned in the sea at Manora beach were recovered on Wednesday, police and rescuers said.

Mauripur SHO Ghulam Husain Korai said that four students of a Korangi seminary left for Manora after Fajr on Tuesday. They were at the beach when strong waves took them away.

An Edhi Foundation spokesperson said that the bodies of two teenagers, identified as Anas Mohammed, 15, and Hasan Rehman, 16, were recovered, while efforts were under way to retrieve the bodies of remaining two students.

He said the police received information from a citizen about the drowning incident. He said that usually lifeguards of the Pakistan navy were deputed at the beach, but the incident took place very early in the morning and apparently no one noticed them.

The SHO, who also joined the rescue team along with lifeguards from the Edhi Foundation, said that they usually recommended the administration to impose a ban on swimming at sea in the months of June and July in view of high tides.

He said the police would recommend that the authorities concerned impose a ban on swimming under Section 144 of the criminal procedure code. However, the SHO admitted that even after imposing a ban on swimming, it was not possible to control crowds, particularly on Eid holidays and weekends.

Edhi divers continued their efforts to find the remaining two bodies till sunset.

Quoting their family members, the police said that they did not inform the seminary or their families about their picnic. The relatives even lodged their ‘missing’ report at the Korangi police station.

He also said the teenagers were taking pictures from their cell phones when they drowned.

Published in Dawn, April 27th, 2023