Kot addu: Four more bodies, including those of a woman and three children, were recovered from the Muzaffargarh Canal on Tuesday, taking the death toll to 12 in the tragic incident involving a loader rickshaw carrying wedding guests that fell into the canal on Monday.
According to Rescue 1122 sources, the loader rickshaw carrying 26 members of a wedding party fell into the canal near Sinawan in Kot Addu after the driver lost control over the vehicle. Eleven people were rescued alive and shifted to hospital for treatment.
DPO Kot Addu Mansoor Qamar visited the site and reviewed the ongoing rescue and search operation. He said that, according to the families, 26 people, including women and children, were travelling in the loader rickshaw to attend a wedding ceremony.
The DPO said that 11 people had so far been rescued alive from the canal, while the families had reported several others missing. He said the rickshaw reportedly went out of control due to overloading and plunged into the Muzaffargarh Canal.
He directed the rescue teams to continue the search operation for the missing persons and ensure that all available resources were utilized for their recovery. A search operation was currently underway for three remaining children. The missing children are reportedly between three and 10 years of age. Expressing deep sorrow over the loss of precious human lives, Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif conveyed her condolences and sympathies to the bereaved families. She directed the authorities to utilize all available resources for the recovery of remaining missing persons and ordered that the search operation be intensified. Rescue teams were continuing their operation in the canal to locate the drowned children.
