MULTAN: At least five people, including four children and a woman, drowned on Saturday when a boat carrying flood-affected residents capsized in the Chenab River near Jalalpur Pirwala in Multan district.
According to officials, the accident occurred during evacuation efforts as rescue workers attempted to shift stranded villagers to safer areas. The boat, carrying over 20 passengers, overturned in strong river currents.
Most of the passengers were rescued, but a search operation was under way for the missing. Sources said one child is still unaccounted for.
Boat ‘overloaded’
Rescue officials and local sources suggested that the accident was caused by overloading, as the boat was too small to carry 22 people.
The victims were among hundreds of families displaced by rising floodwaters in southern Punjab.
National toll crosses 900
With the Jalalpur Pirwala tragedy, the death toll from the ongoing rains and floods across the country has climbed to 912, according to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA).
Earlier in the day, the NDMA had reported 907 fatalities since the onset of the monsoon season on June 26. The authority said two more people drowned in Toba Tek Singh within the past 24 hours.
The report added that at least 1,044 people have been injured and nearly 7,848 houses damaged, including 1,945 completely destroyed. Over 6,000 livestock have also perished.
Read More: Flood devastates Jhang as Chenab overflows banks
Punjab, KP worst hit
Punjab has so far recorded 233 deaths, followed by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with 502, Sindh 58, Gilgit-Baltistan 41, Azad Kashmir 38 and Islamabad nine.
The NDMA noted that 48 per cent of deaths were caused by flooding, 27pc by house collapses, and about seven per cent by drowning, while others were attributed to electrocution and river surges.
Warning of further risks
Authorities cautioned that water levels in major rivers continue to rise, putting vulnerable communities at further risk. Rescue and relief operations remain under way across affected districts.
