Commissioner, Hazara Division, Syed Zaheer-ul-Islam Sunday said that out of the total 40 on board persons of Tarbela boat capsize incident, 16 have been rescued.
He said that the bodies of four children have been fished out of the water while search operation for the remaining 20 persons continued on fifth day of the incident. According to a press note issued from the office of the Commissioner Hazara Division, the muddy water, mud, silt and flood and rain is creating difficulties in the search operation for the missing persons.
The tragic incident of the boat capsizing was occurred on 03.07.2019 near Buldheri Burg at 12:00 in Tarbela Dam. The boat was having 40 persons on board including children and women. Majority of the persons on board were hailing from districts Torghar and Shangla. The boat was also having some cattle on board.
The boat was heading from Kala Dhaka, Torghar to Haripur that overturn in the river due to flood. On receiving the report of incident, the district administration Haripur dispatched rescue teams to the spot with immediate effect and declared emergency in all hospitals including District Headquarters (DHQ) Haripur, Tehsil Headquarters (THQ) Ghazi, Trauma Centre, Haripur and other public sector hospitals in the adjacent localities.
The administration also sought cooperation from Ghazi Airbase and Tarbela Dam Project in the rescue operation and divers of Pakistan Army along with helicopters reached the venue of the incident and a rescue operation was launched. The rescue teams from Nowshera, Haripur, Abbottabad and Rescue 1122 Pesahwar were also dispatched to the venue of the incident wherein the district administration arranged tent, drinking water and food items at the venue.
Furthermore, a medical camp under the supervision of the Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC) Haripur has also been set up at Pudhana Village wherein emergency medicines and ambulances are available. Similarly, an information desk for the heirs of the victims has also been established under the supervision of Additional Assistant Commissioner (AAC) Dr. Adel Ayub at Trauma Centre, Haripur.
According to Commissioner Hazara Division, so far the bodies of only 4 children have been recovered from the water. These bodies have been identified as Mubashir (4) son of Waqas, resident of Ashra Kaneer, Tri Beet Street, Haripur; Adil - 14 month son of Gul Badan, resident of Torghar, Owais - 30 months son of Umarzada, resident of Dedal Kamal, Shangla and Inam-ul-Haq (2) son of Ikram-ul-Haq, resident of Dedal Kamal, Shangla respectively.
The bodies of those children were brought to Trauma Centre, Haripur wherein their bodies after postmortem were handed over to heirs in the presence of the district administration and political leadership of districts Torghar and Shangla.
During the rescue operation 16 persons were rescued alive and search operation for the remaining 20 persons is still continued.
The Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Mahmood Khan has also visited the spot of incident and medical camp established at Pudhana village wherein the Deputy Commissioner (DC) Haripur gave him detailed briefing taken by the district administration. The Chief Minister has appreciated the efforts of the district administration and expressed satisfaction over the arrangements made in this regard. He announced a compensation of Rs 0.5 million for the heirs of the each drowned person and Rs 0.1 million for each rescued person. The compensation amount would be distributed among the heirs and rescued persons after verification to be conducted by the officers of district administration and revenue staff.
The press note said that on the fifth day of the incident, the Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC) Haripur along with Assistant Commissioner (AC) remained present at the spot and supervising all relief activities. The capsized boat could not retrieved from water due to filling with mud and trapping in silt while the rescue teams are also shifting their camps due to increase in the water level in the river. The rescue teams along with locals are continuing search operation for the missing persons.
According to experts, increase in the river water in next two or three days can bring the bodies out on surface of water. On the directives of the provincial government, the district administration and rescue teams are continuing their search operation and also providing all kind of assistance to their heirs.