Tariq Saeed Peshawar
In a tragic incident around a dozen kids were killed when their boat capsized in Tanda dam lake in Kohat district on Sunday. The death is feared to go higher as the condition of seven victims rescued by the divers, was stated to be critical while many continued to be missing.
Reports say a boat carrying 30 kids who were students of a religious seminary sunk in the Tanda dam lake. Police said the boat was overloaded and lost balance. “The boat was carrying about 30 students on a daytrip from a local madrassa when it overturned”. A Police official said.
According to district administration, the rescue teams rescued 17 kids from the water, some with critical condition, and shifted them to a nearby hospital. Search for the other missing students was underway. A special diving team has also been dispatched from Peshawar for the rescue operation.
“Of the 17 kids brought to hospital, 10 died in hospital while the condition of seven children is still critical”. The doctors at the District Headquarters Hospital Kohat said. The local administration said all of the dead so far recovered from Tanda Dam lake, were between eight and 12 years-old and belonged to a religious seminary adding the ill-fated students had come to the Kohat Dam for recreation with couple of teachers.
The Deputy Commissioner (DC) Kohat Furqan Ashraf who confirmedthe tragic incident said about 16 children were taken to the hospital while 11 have died adding the Pakistan Army’s rescue teams have also reached the site of the incident where relief operations are being carried out. The District Police Officer Kohat said according to the information the boat was in a dilapidated condition and it was overloaded too.
“Everything was normal and we were enjoying the picnic when suddenly the boat overturned,” said 11-year-old survivor Muhammad Mustafa from his hospital bed in the Kohat city. He said he got stuck under the boat till the time a man on an inflatable tube saved him.
The Governor Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Haji Ghulam Ali and Caretaker Chief Minister Azam Khan have expressed their deep sense of shock over death of a dozen children in the Kohat boat incident. They sympathized with the bereaved families and directed the hospital administration to ensure every possible treatment to the survivors of the incident besides asking the rescue teams to put in their best efforts in search of those who continued to be missing in the lake.
