SWABI  -  As many as ten persons drowned when a boat carrying 15 tourists capsized in the Indus River at Kund Park, police said Friday. However, seven of the tourists were rescued by the Rescue 1122 team and private boats. The incident occurred on the second day of Eidul Fir when a boat like vari­ous other boats was full of tourists and was going around to see the view of the Indus River.

Luqman Shah, one of the Rescue 1122 officials, told The Nation that soon after receiving the in­formation they dispatched their teams and res­cue 1122 personnel from districts Nowshera and Mardan also participated in recovering the dead bodies from the Indus River. Other officials said that after Eid-ul-Fitr, tourists from across the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and numerous regions of Punjab visit the Kund Park, which is situated at junction of the districts Nowshera and Swa­bi while engaging in various activities, including going around in boats in the Indus River, enjoy­ing the cool water of the river, the air laden with moisture while having fun with each other.

They said that the ill-fated tourists were also riding a boat which sank in the middle of the reiv­er. There were conflicting reports about the num­ber of tourists aboard the boat.