Tanda Dam tragedy: Death toll rises to 51, five students rescued alive

So far bodies of 51 students and teachers have been recovered while five students have been retrieved alive from the Tanda Dam lake in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Kohat district.

The bodies of a teacher and one skipper were also pulled from the water, bringing the death toll to 51.

The rescued students have been shifted to District Hospital Kohat.

While the search for one missing individual is ongoing, the military’s media wing ISPR stated on Tuesday.

Pakistan Army troops continued the rescue and relief operations for the last 72 hours.

The divers spent three days dragging bodies from freezing waters.

Military personnel — including army engineers and Special Service Group’s divers — along with Rescue 1122 and civil administration, have been working day and night for the last 72 hours, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) notified on Tuesday.

In a statement, ISPR said that the Pakistan Army’s rescue and relief operation was underway at the lake.

Troops, along with Rescue 1122 and civil administration, rescued five students alive while army engineers and Special Services Group divers recovered 51 deceased students and teachers, the statement added.

The tragedy occurred on Sunday as the boat carrying students of a madrassah capsized in the Tanda Dam lake.

The boys aged between seven and 14 were all students of a madrassah and had been taken for a day trip to the scenic popular weekend tourist destination.

A group of more than 50 students from Mir Bash Khel madrassah had gone for a picnic along with the seminary’s caretaker.

Tanda Dam lake is about five kilometres (3 miles) away from the madrassah Mir Bash Khel in Kohat.