At least 19 dead and several missing after boat sinks in Indus River, Pakistan

At least 19 people, all of them women, have died and several others are missing after a boat sank in the waters of the Indus River as it passes through the city of Machka, in the interior of Pakistan.

The boat was hosting a wedding party involving more than a thousand people and was on its way to Machka from Rajanpur, some 50 kilometers to the north, according to the Pakistani newspaper ‘Dawn’.

According to Said Musa Raza, deputy commissioner of Rahim Yar Jan, the most important city near the two localities, the boat capsized due to “overloading and high water flow”.

According to Musa Raza, once the alert for the incident was received, a total of 30 rescuers, five ambulances and a water rescue vehicle have moved to the scene.

The tragedy has reached the ears of the Pakistani Prime Minister, Shehbaz Sharif, who has launched a publication on his Twitter profile in which he regrets what happened. “I am saddened by the loss of 19 precious lives,” he has said.

For his part, Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has called on the authorities to make use of all available resources for rescue operations and to prevent such incidents in the future.