At least nine people, including a child, drowned on Wednesday night after a private boat carrying flood-affected families capsized in Jalalpur Pirwala’s Mohana Sandila area. The accident occurred just hours after another boat overturned nearby.
Police said the boat was carrying 28 passengers when it sank. Nineteen were rescued by locals, while eight went missing. Rescue teams later recovered three bodies, including that of four-year-old Salman.
The boatman, who survived, revealed in a video statement that passengers had each paid Rs2,000 for the journey. He added that no official rescue teams were present at the time, and villagers carried out the initial rescue.
Rescue officials confirmed that operations are still underway to search for the missing victims.
The tragedy followed several similar incidents the same day. A rescue boat overturned on Khanbela Road, killing a 20-day-old baby girl while 19 passengers were saved. Another vessel capsized in Darabpur village, Alipur, but all on board survived. In Ahmedpur East, a private boat overturned near Bhakri, though the passengers managed to escape.
In Noorwala village, Liaquatpur, the death toll from a separate boat accident has risen to eight after three more bodies were recovered, while two people remain missing.
So far, at least 10 people have died in recent flood-related boat accidents across southern Punjab.
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