Horrific: School Trip Takes Nightmare Turn After Boat Capsizes - 10 Kids Killed and More Are Missing
Ten children died in a horrible accident in Northwest Pakistan on Sunday.
A boat carrying students on a day trip from their local madrassa (an Islamic religious school) capsized in Tanda Dam lake, which is located in the Pakhtunkhwa province of the South Asian country.
Speaking with the Agence France-Presse (AFP News), local police official Mir Rauf confirmed the boat had been carrying between 25 and 30 students ages seven to 14.
In addition to the 10 dead, 11 were rescued from the accident, six of those in critical condition.
At the time AFP News published its report, Rauf told the outlet "A rescue operation is underway."
Kohat's district commissioner Mahmood Aslam confirmed to Reuters that military divers were sent in to retrieve the children.
According to Aslam, eight students were missing when the rescue efforts began.
According to AFP News mass drownings are actually common in Pakistan, especially when it comes to cases involving women.
This is for two reasons: one, many citizens of Pakistan never learned to swim, particularly women due to the cultural traditions of the region and two, the head-to-toe coverings of Pakistani women often weigh quite a bit when wet.
Only a few months prior, in July 2022, a boat carrying a wedding party in the country's Punjab province capsized.
The accident resulted in the drowning deaths of 18 women, AFP News reported.
The boat accident was not the only fatal crash to occur in Pakistan on Sunday.
In addition, a bus plunged off a bridge killing at least 40 people, according to AFP News.
"The dead bodies...are beyond recognition," Hamza Anjum, a senior official from the district in which the accident took place, said according to AFP News.
In the hours following the two accidents, video footage of the aftermath of both began circulating on social media.
A boat full of young students has capsized in Pakistan, killing at least 10 children. pic.twitter.com/WCvVXpIsBy
— 10 News First (@10NewsFirst) January 30, 2023
VIDEO: Two separate transport accidents in western Pakistan on Sunday claimed 51 lives, when a bus plunged off a bridge and a boat on Tanda Dam carrying a class of children, aged between seven and 14, capsized. pic.twitter.com/RFjZwSvsIC
— AFP News Agency (@AFP) January 30, 2023
Between the two accidents, as many as 51 people died.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
