Faisal Edhi, team rescued after boat capsize in Malir river

KARACHI: The boat of philanthropist Faisal Edhi was capsized during a rescue operation in Karachi’s Malir River on Wednesday.

As per details, Faisal Edhi, along with his team members, was taking part in relief operations after the recent torrential rains wreaked havoc in the city.

According to sources, Edhi was patrolling the river in a boat with PTI MPA Raja Azhar and the team of five were searching for people in need of rescue when their boat capsized. 

The Edhi officials were drowning when they were rescued by fishermen in a fishing boat and were shifted to Ibrahim Hyderi.

Later talking to media, Faisal Edhi said that he was trying to rescue eight people who have drowned in Malir river when the incident occurred.

“After a search operation, we decided to return from sea view area when suddenly the engine of the boat encountered technical issues,” he said.

Faisal Edhi further said the boat capsized due to rough waves, adding that there were six people on board at the time of the incident, including Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) provincial lawmaker Raja Azhar.

He said that they were wearing life jackets that saved them from drowning as they spent almost half an hour in the water, facing rough waves. “A boat of fishermen coming from towards Ibrahim Hyderi rescued us,” he added.

A breach in the dyke in Malir River near Mehmoodabad inundated several areas on Tuesday night as residents remained stranded in their homes.

The streets in Dadabhoy Town near Baloch Colony remain inundated after water overflowed from Malir stream. Several houses and a fuel station were completely submerged with rainwater as residents struggled to continue their daily routine.

The Malir River is currently overflowing due to heavy rainfall in Karachi as high to moderate rainfall lashed many parts of the city. According to the Met Office, the rainfall has smashed ninety years record for the month of August.

On Tuesday, four people drowned after a bridge on the Korangi Causeway on Malir River submerged during the ongoing monsoon rainfall. Two others were rescued while another two people were washed away and have been recovered.

Deputy commissioner Korangi and police teams have rushed to the site and closed the bridge and diverted traffic to adjoining areas. A bridge connecting Malir and Landhi Industrial Area collapsed due to raging Malir River which disconnected the road link to both areas.

The hours-long spell, which began before sunrise on Tuesday and continued till night, broke previous records of rainfall recorded in the city.

The Met department said that Karachi had received 345mm of rainfall so far in August, breaking the previous record of 298mm reported in August 1984.