At least 50 people drowned in the Indus River at Burg in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa when a boat carrying more than 60 passengers to Haripur from Dedal Kamach in Shangla capsized near their destination on Wednesday.
Three bodies, of a man and a child, have so far been pulled out of the waters while 15 people survived the incident and swam to the bank of the river, Haripur Assistant Commissioner Arab Gul told South Punjab News.
He said about 50 people including women and children were on board when the boat travelling to Haripur from Shangla's Dedal Kamach area capsized in the Indus River at Tarbela, Haripur district.
Gul said rescue work is underway to recover the rest of the drowned people and local shopkeepers are taking part in the effort. Teams of the Pakistan Army's Special Service Group (SSG) have been dispatched to the site as well.
Ibadullah Khan, a social activist in Dedal Kamach told DawnNewsTV that most of the drowned people belonged to Dedal Kamach and were close relatives of each other.
He said the news of the incident hit the area "like a thunderstorm", leaving its residents in deep sorrow.
