Rescue 1122 officials said on Wednesday that a boat carrying 13 people capsized due to strong river current.
Locals said these people got onto the boat along with five motorcycles after traffic on the bridge got clogged due to an influx of picnickers at the recreational place.
Of the 13 people, six were rescued by local divers or they swam out of the river, while seven were missing till Wednesday evening.
Illegal boat operators offer their services to people to take them to other side of the river when traffic on the bridge gets stuck up.
Boat operators Qasim Borani and Jamil charged Rs200 per head from people crossing the river by boat despite the fact that the district government has imposed a ban on boat operations in Chenab and Indus rivers.
The ban was imposed in 2008 when eight people drowned in the River Chenab near Sher Shah Bridge on Aug 14 the same year.
Civil Defence and police have failed to implement the ban.
Acting DCO Muzaffar Ali Sial said rescues were searching for the bodies and police had arrested a boatman and two boat contractors.
Journalist from Alipur Syed Hasan said local divers were also taking part in the rescue operation on the request of the families of missing persons. He said divers had been promised Rs20,000 to Rs50,000 for recovery of each body.
Wednesday 22 August 2012
http://dawn.com/2012/08/23/one-body-retrieved-nine-feared-drowned-in-chenab/
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