LAHORE: Rescue 1122 on Sunday recovered the bodies of five youngsters who had drowned in the Chenab River while picnicking near Ganga Pattan in Rohailanwali, Muzaffargarh, the other day.

The youngsters were allegedly making TikTok videos at the riverbank when the incident occurred, according to a rescuer.

Police and Rescue 1122 officials said nine friends had gone to the river for a picnic. One of them slipped into the river, prompting four others to jump into the water to rescue him. All five drowned while the remaining four managed to reach the riverbank safely.

The deceased were identified as Muhammad Ali, Rana Usman, Malik Ahmad, Abdul Rehman and Muhammad Makki.

One of the surviving friends told the media that they were throwing mud at one another when one of them slipped into the river while trying to pick up mud.He said the friends tried to rescue the youngster but failed, and four others also drowned in the attempt. He added that none of them knew how to swim.

A rescuer told Dawn that the youngsters were regular visitors to the picnic spot where they made TikTok videos.

Rescue 1122 teams from Muzaffargarh, led by District Emergency Officer Ubaidullah Khan, continued the search operation for around 18 hours before recovering all five bodies.

Talking to Dawn, Mr Khan said 42 rescuers, including 13 swimmers and 12 divers on four rescue boats, took part in the operation.He added that the search teams used boats and recovered the bodies of all five youngsters.

Mr Khan said the river was around 35 to 40 feet deep at the site with a water flow of between 5,000 and 6,000 cusecs, making the search operation challenging. The bodies were handed over to the families after the completion of legal formalities.

Published in Dawn, October 12th, 2026