RIVER TRAGEDY
Twenty women from same family killed and 30 people missing after wedding party boat carrying 100 capsizes in Pakistan
AT least 20 women have died and 30 people are missing after an overcrowded boat capsized on the way to a wedding today.
More than 100 members of the same family including dozens of kids were packed onto the doomed vessel sailing down the Indus river in Pakistan when it overturned.
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Almost 90 people were rescued by divers as emergency services scrambled to help survivors.
Officials said most of the passengers were women and children who were on their way to a family wedding across the river in the Sadiqabad district.
Government official Aslam Tasleem told local Geo News TV: "We have retrieved 20 bodies so far and most of them were women."
He said around 30 additional people were missing.
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Tasleem added: "We're not sure how many people exactly were on the boat.
"We're getting the estimates just on the basis of the family members' accounts."
More than 30 divers took part in a frantic operation to find and save people who had plunged into the water.
Police officer Mohammad Hammad said: "The death toll may increase."
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Pakistan's Prime Minister shared to condolences to the victims' family.
He said: "I am saddened by the loss of precious lives as a result of the boat capsizing accident in the Indus River.
"We pray to Allah Almighty to grant the deceased a place in his mercy and grant patience to the affected families."
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