GUJAR KHAN: Three persons of a family drowned in the Jhelum Riverwhile swimming in the vicinity of the Jhelum city on Tuesday, according to Rescue 1122 sources.

The sources said that two brothers were swept away by currents into deep waters. A man, reportedly the boys’ father according to the bystanders jumped to save their lives but also drowned.

According to Engineer Saeed Ahmed, District Emergency Officer of Jhelum, reported that Rescue 1122 divers recovered the bodies of the two boys. The search for the body of the third victim was going on till filing of this report.

The district administration had already imposed a ban on swimming in the river as the Civil Defence and Rescue 1122 were on high alert.

Following last month’s boat tragedy in Sagharpur, where six members of a familylost their lives in the Jhelum River, the district administration had imposed a ban on swimming and unprotected boat journeys across the river.

An Air Force personnel also drowned in the river near Khurd area, and his body was retrieved on Monday from a canal in Mandi Bahauddin area, 26 km away from the Jhelum city.

Published in Dawn, July 3rd, 2024