ISLAMABAD: At least nine people were killed after a boat capsized near the historic Multan city in Pakistan eastern Punjab province, the provincial disaster management authority said on Friday, as floodwaters continued to move southwards threatening the Sindh province.
Punjab, home to more than half of the country’s 240 million people and its main farming belt, has been devastated since record monsoon rains and India’s release of excess water swelled the Ravi, Chenab and Sutlej rivers in late August, killing 97 people and submerging over two million acres of farmland.
The deluges have affected more than 4,500 villages and over 4.4 million people, according to Punjab Relief Commissioner Punjab Nabeel Javed. Rescuers have so far transported 2.4 million people and 19.1 million livestock to relief camps after rescuing them from marooned villages in several districts.
A rescue boat this week capsized during a similar operation near Multan in southern Punjab, where the three rivers have been flowing in high floods after leaving a trail of destruction in northern and central districts of the country’s breadbasket province.
“The boat was transporting 25 people to safety when it capsized near Jalal Pur Pirwala,” PDMA spokesperson Mazhar Hussain told Arab News. “Nine people lost their lives in the incident.”
