KARACHI: A fishing boat off the shore of Karachi carrying 37 fishermen capsized due to high tides late Sunday night, killing at least 11 on board.

The boat had sailed out from Karachi’s Ibrahim Hyderi coastal village. 15 fishermen were rescued while the bodies of 11 fishermen were retrieved during search.

According to Sindh Minister for Fisheries Zahid Ali Bhurgari, the Maritime Security Agency had managed to recover 11 bodies from the sea so far, while it was searching for the rest of the missing fishermen.

Locals in Ibrahim Hyderi said that the body of a fisherman was caught in a fishing-net and brought to shore. Soon after, a large number of people sailed out in search of the missing fishermen on their own because no help was offered by the Coast Guards or Maritime Security Agency by that time, they claimed.

The boat’s owner, Umer, said the boat had lost its balance due to high tides and capsized soon after it entered the open sea. Since many other boats were sailing in the vicinity, 15 persons were recovered while the others were swept away by the tides, he said.