Middle-east Arab News Opinion | Asharq Al-awsat

Pakistani ferry sinks, 60 drowned | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
Select Page

KARACHI (Reuters) -A passenger ferry believed to have been overloaded sank in southern Pakistan on Friday drowning at least 60 people, including children, government officials said.

The accident came nearly four weeks after an earthquake killed more than 73,000 people in the country”s north. &#34According to our information, 60 people have been killed,&#34 a navy spokesman, Lieutenant Commander Salman Ali, said of the ferry accident.

The ferry sank in a coastal creek near the town of Keti Bandar, in Thatta district, which is at the mouth of the Indus River, about 70 km (45 miles) southeast of Karachi, Ali said.

&#34We have sent our diving and rescue teams to the area,&#34 he said.

Police said 17 bodies had been recovered.

A provincial spokesman said 80 people were on board the boat when the accident happened. The cause was being investigated but it was thought the vessel was overloaded.

&#34At the moment we feel the boat was overloaded and they failed to take required precautionary measures,&#34 said provincial government spokesman Salahuddin Haider.

Bachal Sanghari, a senior regional police officer, said the passengers included women and children from two families who were going to a nearby village to offer condolences over a death.

The disaster coincided with the Eid al-Fitr holiday, normally a joyous occasion following the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan and will add to the somber mood after the catastrophic earthquake that hit the country”s northern mountains on October 8.