Bodies of 20 drowning victims recovered from Karachi beaches

Bodies of 19 people recovered from Karachi beaches by dawn-news KARACHI: Rescue teams recovered the bodies of at least 20 people who had drowned while bathing in the sea at two separate beaches in Karachi on Wednesday, DawnNews reported. Twelve bodies were recovered from Clifton beach on Wednesday night after which the rescue operation was suspended owing to insufficient light whereas an additional six bodies were recovered after 6 am on Thursday morning. The bodies were shifted to Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC). Four victims were identified as 12-year-old Mazhar, 17-year-old Khizar, 19-year-old Iqrar and 23-year-old Nazeebullah. Moreover, two bodies were also recovered from Hawkes Bay today. Reports were also received about two bodies found from Sunehra (Golden) beach. However, this could not be confirmed. Rescue efforts were under way to recover three missing bodies out of a total of 23 people who had drowned. Commissioner Karachi Shoaib Ahmed Siddiqui said that Pakistan Navy helicopters were also being used in the rescue operation.

People gather as a Pakistan Navy diver attached to a sling rope from a helicopter, holds the body of a man who had drowned on Wednesday, after recovering it from Arabian Sea during a search rescue operation at Karachi's Clifton beach July 31, 2014. ****************************** Another lifeguard said that more than 150,000 people had turned up at Karachi's beaches on the event of Eid whereas there were only a handful of rescue personnel covering the coastline of the city which stretches to around 130 kilometres. Administrative response and relatives' woes As a result of the drowning, routes leading to the beaches were sealed. Policemen on horseback were patrolling Clifton beach while a picket was established on Maripur road to intercept picnickers on way to Hawkes Bay, French beach, Sandspit and other beaches. Relatives of the missing picnickers, trying to approach Clifton beach to search for their loved ones, staged protests and burnt tyres after policemen restricted the access of all beachgoers. Faiz Rehman, 32, said he and his younger brother had came to the beach on Wednesday to go for a swim along with two friends — who were now missing. He said: “As we were swimming in the sea, I noticed the waves getting bigger and more rough, and I got scared and started swimming back. “I also called my brother and friends to swim back to the shore. My brother returned but my two friends were still swimming as the waves got bigger I lost sight of them. “I waited for around three hours but they didn't return. “Twenty-four-year-old Muhammad Haroon added he had come to celebrate Eid with his cousins, but refused to swim with them because he did not want to ruin his new clothes. “I was walking along the shore waiting for them to return. “We are still clueless about them. “ Thousands of people had turned up at the city beaches on the second day of Eid despite the administration-imposed ban under Section 144 on entering or bathing in the sea. President Mamnoon Hussain expressed sorrow over the loss of lives.