Bathers ignore Karachi swimming ban; at least 21 die

At least 21 bathers drowned in rough seas off Pakistan's biggest city, Karachi, after they defied a ban on swimming during the monsoon season, officials said on Thursday.

The bathers were among thousands who had taken to the beaches to celebrate the Eid-al-Fitr holiday, which began on Tuesday and continues until Friday.

Senior police officer Ibadat Nisar said the authorities discovered three bodies washed ashore at upscale Clifton Beach on Wednesday evening, prompting a wider search operation that was suspended overnight but resumed on Thursday.

"We started talking to picnickers on the beach and realized that the number of people who drowned was much higher than we thought, people whom we talked to told us about their friends or relatives who had gone missing while swimming," he said.

Shoaib Ahmed Siddiqui, the city's top administrator, confirmed the incident, adding: "We have just recovered another dead body, and the toll now stands at 21. And it might increase."

Several ambulances were seen on the beach where the relatives of some of the missing anxiously awaited word of their loved ones.

Faiz Rehman, 32, said he and his younger brother had came to the beach on Wednesday to go for a swim along with two friends - who were now missing.

"As we were swimming in the sea, I noticed the waves getting bigger and more rough, and I got scared and started swimming back," he said.

"I also called my brother and friends to swim back to the shore. My brother returned but my two friends were still swimming and as the waves got bigger I lost sight of them.

"I waited for around three hours, but they didn't return."

Twenty-four-year-old Muhammad Haroon added he had come to celebrate Eid with his cousins but refused to swim with them because he did not want to ruin his new clothes.

"I was walking along the shore waiting for them to return. We are still clueless about them," he said.

Siddiqui added that a search operation had been launched with the help of navy divers and a helicopter, as well as the civil authorities.

Thousands of residents regularly throng Karachi's beaches for picnics on public holidays, as the city has few public parks. But safety standards are low with the few lifeguards on duty often unable to exert any authority.

'Height of stupidity'

Despite the deaths, hundreds of families, including women and children, continued to arrive at Clifton Beach on Thursday. Some clashed with police and demanded to be allowed to swim.

"We are still searching for bodies, and these people can see the dead bodies with their eyes. But they are still fighting with us to allow them to swim in the sea," said Fahad Ali, a police official deployed at the beach.

"These people have come with their family members. There are women and children, and you can see kids as young as six and their parents are fighting with us to allow them to swim. This is the height of stupidity," he said.

Nisar, the senior police officer, said the government had imposed a ban on swimming before the start of the monsoon season in June.

(China Daily 08/01/2014 page11)