KARACHI: Pakistan Navy said on Monday it had recovered bodies of 10 fishermen who had been missing since last week after their boat capsized in the Arabian Sea, with families awaiting news about four others still missing.
On March 4, 45 fishermen from Ibrahim Hyderi area of Pakistan’s southern city of Karachi set out on a fishing journey aboard a vessel, Assad, according to survivor accounts. The boat capsized at 3am off Hajjamro Creek due to technical issues, compounded by adverse weather conditions.
A total of 14 fishermen had been missing after the incident. On March 5, the Pakistan Navy launched an operation together with the Pakistan Maritime Security Agency (PMSA) to search for missing fishermen, which involved aircraft, helicopters, ships and speed boats.
After rigorous efforts spanning over the last six days, the navy recovered bodies of 10 missing fishermen on Monday, who were handed over to authorities for further formalities.
“Major breakthrough of search efforts materialized today when PMSS REHMAT upon receipt of information from deployed units recovered 10 dead bodies of missing fishermen,” Pakistan Navy said in a statement.
The bodies were recovered despite dense marine traffic in the vicinity of the accident, time lapse and choppy sea conditions, according to the statement.
However, relatives of the four fishermen, who were still missing, said they had been enduring an “agonizing wait” for the last six days.
“When we received four bodies yesterday, we hoped that Sajjad was one of them. But our painful wait continues,” said Hamza Qasim, uncle of 24-year-old Sajjad Usman, one of the missing fishermen.
“His daughter, wife, and parents are all waiting eagerly to see Sajjad. They are continuously in tears. Seeing his body and bidding him farewell will help ease their pain, though saying goodbye to a loved one and that too a sole bread-winner is not easy.”
Fisherfolk in Ibrahim Hyderi earlier feared that tidal waves might have carried the missing fishermen into Indian territorial waters.
Agha Rafiullah, a Pakistani lawmaker from Karachi’s coastal belt, told a Pakistani newspaper on Sunday that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had assured that his government would raise the matter with Indian authorities.
Asked if Pakistan had sought Indian assistance in locating the missing fishermen, Pakistani Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said on Monday that no such request had been made by Islamabad.
