At least 14 persons, including four children and six women, were drowned in floodwater when a rescue boat hit an electricity pole in village Rojhan Mazari, Rajanpur district some 170 miles west from Multan on Monday morning and smashed into pieces. Rescue team has recovered only 12 bodies while two bodies of minor children were still missing, police said.
Reports reaching here said a rescue boat, evacuating at least 26 people from a flood-hit village of Rojhan Mazari, was pushed by a tidal wave of floodwater towards an electricity pole and broke into pieces instantly and all the people were drowned in the deep water.
DSP Rojhan Muhammad Anis Lodhi, supervising the rescue operations in the area, told this scribe that rescue team had saved the lives of 11 persons while 14 others, including two minor boys, two girls, six women and four men were drowned and bodies of two minor children were still missing.
He said that a large number of people were stranded in the floodwater and evacuation work was very slow because of shortage of boats and manpower.
However, help of army personnel was sought by the district administration for rescue operations.