Kohat boat tragedy toll tops 50

KOHAT: The death toll from the Kohat boat tragedy rose to 51 as more bodies were retrieved from the Tanda Dam after hectic efforts on Tuesday.

Initially, there were reports that 40 students, a teacher of a seminary, and a sailor had drowned in the Tanda Lake, but later it was confirmed that 57 students had come to the tourist resort for a picnic.

The Pakistan Army is conducting rescue and relief operations at Tanda Dam.

Pakistan Army troops, in collaboration with Rescue 1122 and civil administration, worked around the clock for 72 hours to save five students alive from Tanda Dam, while Pakistan Army engineers and divers from SSG recovered bodies of 51 deceased students and teachers.

The five rescued students were shifted to the district hospital in Kohat. The search for one missing individual is ongoing.

On the first day, 11 students had died after drowning, while the remaining had gone missing when a boat carrying over 57 children from Madrassa Jamiatul Arabiatul Islamia, located in the Mirbashkhel area, capsized in Tanda Dam in Kohat on Sunday last. Earlier, the rescuers had fished out six of the drowned children alive soon after the boat overturned in the deep water of the reservoir. Also, the first information report was registered against the officials of the Irrigation Department at Muhammad Riaz Shaheed Police Station, Kohat. The officials of the Irrigation Department nominated in the FIR were the XEN, a sub-divisional officer and a sub-engineer.