Srinagar- The body of a minor, who was missing after the April 16 boat capsize tragedy in the Jhelum river here, was recovered on Friday, taking the death toll in the incident to seven, officials said.
The body of a minor boy who drowned in the tragedy in the Gandabal area in the outskirts of the city here, was retrieved from the river near the Old Zero Bridge in the Rajbagh area of the city, the officials said. They said that the body was shifted to SMHS Srinagar for medico-legal formalities.
News of the discovery spread like wildfire through Gandbal. The pall of gloom that had shrouded the community for eleven days deepened. The cries, a constant undercurrent since the boat capsized, rose in a fresh wave of anguish. Women wailed, their grief echoing off through the streets of Gandbal. Men, their faces etched with despair, hurried towards the riverbank.
With the recovery of Haziq’s body, the death toll in the Gandbal boat capsize has reached seven while two bodies continue to remain missing.
Locals of Gandbal area of Srinagar said that a body was seen at Zero-bridge and was retrieved without any delay. Later, the body was identified as Haziq Ahmed Sheikh, 11, of Gandbal, who had drowned along with six others in river Jehlum and was missing since April 16. Since then, religious scholars of different schools of thought have visited Gandbal to share the pain and grief of bereaved families. They also prayed for the recovery of untraced bodies. Emotional duas were made by the religious preachers for the recovery of those untraced. Locals at Gandbal said they are hopeful that the other two bodies will also be found.
An eyewitness said that as the body of Haziq reached his native area Gandbal, people irrespective of age and colour flooded the little boy’s residence amid shrieks and cries while as women were seen wailing. The Gandbal locality of city has been in a state of mourning since past 11 days, owing to the tragic boat capsize incident that claimed seven lives including little Haziq. The father-son duo continue to remain missing under waters.
Regarding the retrieval of Haziq’s body, a local, who was part of the sand extraction team at Zero Bridge, Rajbagh, said that they saw the body on the top of the water floating near Rajbagh area on Friday afternoon. “Soon, I along with other men rushed towards the body and handed it to the police, who then took it to the hospital, where medical formalities were done after which the body was handed over to the boy’s family,” he said.
The two bodies of Showkat Ahmed and Farhan Parray continue to remain untraced. Meanwhile, hundreds of people attended the funeral of Haziq at Gandbal and bid his last goodbye. People from various parts of Srinagar had reached Gandbal to participate in the funeral of the little boy.
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