Pakistani athlete Shahida Raza among 67 casualties of Italy migrant shipwreck

Pakistani athlete Shahida Raza is reported to be among the 67 casualties of the Italy migrant shipwreck!

Pakistan’s women’s hockey and football player Shahida Raza was among the 67 unfortunate individuals killed in an immigration boat tragedy in Italy a few days ago.

Shahida Raza, 27, used to play hockey first and then became a part of the Pakistan football team.

He belonged to the Alamdar Road area of Quetta and wanted to go abroad for employment.

Raza represented Pakistan in 2012’s Asian Hockey Federation Cup in which she was regarded as the team’s linchpin and was nicknamed Chintoo.

Officials of the Pak Federation of Italy have visited Calabria to identify the deceased.

The spokesperson of the Foreign Office, Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, said that the Pakistani embassy is taking steps to transfer the dead bodies to Pakistan.

On the other hand, the female player’s cousin sister Nadia told the media that Shahida hailed from Hazara Community and she used to play both hockey and football and represented the national team and was part of the Pakistan Army team.

Nadia told that Shahida was married a few years ago but was suffering from depression after her separation from her husband and she wanted to go to Europe, which took her life.

The Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) issued a statement saying its senior officials had extended their condolences to Raza’s family, adding that she had “died in an accident”.

 

 

On 26 February 2023, a boat carrying around 200 migrants sank amidst harsh weather conditions while trying to land on the coast of Staccato di Cutro, a seaside resort village in the town of Crotone, in the region of Calabria in southern Italy.

According to the Italian authorities, 150 to 200 migrants were on board the wooden boat that, after setting sail from Turkey, broke apart off Steccato di Cutro in southern Italy.

Most were from Afghanistan, others from Pakistan, Syria, the Palestinian territories, Iran and Somalia.

Around 80 people were rescued, while the search for others is continuing.

As reported, a senior official at the Pakistani embassy in Italy met 17 Pakistani survivors of the capsised vessel on Monday while four were missing.