Multan, September 11, 2025: At least nine people, including women and children, died after a rescue boat evacuating flood victims capsized on the Indus River in Punjab earlier this week, officials confirmed Thursday.
The boat, carrying around 20 people, overturned Tuesday when strong winds and fast currents destabilised it, said Musarrat Jabeen, the region’s top government administrator.
Rescue teams, including Pakistan Army divers, recovered five bodies during an hours-long operation that day. By early Thursday, four more bodies were pulled from the water, officials said.
The tragedy follows a similar incident on Saturday near Jalalpur Pirwala city, where five people drowned after the Chenab and Sutlej rivers overflowed following water releases from Indian dams.
Authorities are reinforcing embankments to protect Jalalpur Pirwala, but surrounding villages remain inundated, displacing tens of thousands of people. Many residents complain they are still waiting for government assistance, with some forced to shelter in tents or along roadsides.
Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif visited the affected area Wednesday and ordered police to take action against private boat operators charging stranded families excessive fares. “After my visit to Jalalpur, I have directed strict police monitoring of all boat operations,” she wrote on social media, assuring that private operators would be compensated by the government.
Senior provincial minister Marriyum Aurangzeb also met residents Thursday, pledging better coordination in relief efforts.
The Punjab government said it had deployed 100 boats equipped with life jackets and floodlights, as well as four helicopters, to expedite safe evacuations and deliver food to displaced families.
