Rough seas claim lives of 3 Saudi nationals at Karachi beach

KARACHI: Two employees of the Saudi Consulate and the son of the vice-consul general drowned on Saturday at Karachi’s Hawksbay Beach, which is frequented by locals and tourists seeking to cool off in the scorching summer heat of Pakistan’s southern port commercial city.
Security officials disclosed their identities as Alaa bin Attiya Al-Quthami, Abdullah bin Faleh Al-Subai, and Fahad Fihan Al-Usaimi, son of the Saudi Consulate’s vice-consul general, according to reports.
After a search lasting two hours, the bodies of the three were recovered and handed over to Saudi officials, who reported to the media that rough waters and strong waves proved difficult for the bathers, who were pulled further out to sea.
Attempts to resuscitate one of the Saudi nationals, who was recovered unconscious, failed at a private hospital where he died later.
A Saudi Consulate employee, speaking to Arab News, declined to comment as he was not authorized to speak on behalf of the consulate in Karachi.
Other officials at the Saudi Embassy in Islamabad and the consulate in Karachi could not be reached for comment due to the weekend.
A teenager girl also drowned along with her family of five nearby Hawksbay Beach.
The family was picnicking at the beach and did not gauge the situation, according to other beach goers as reported by local TV media.
In May, 18 people lost their lives at different beaches, prompting authorities to impose a six-month ban on swimming in the sea. The government had issued public adviseries to avoid beaches and leisure boat trips at sea due to the monsoon season.
“The government had notified that under Section 144 of the code of criminal procedure, a ban has been imposed on wading, swimming and diving in the sea at the beaches of the city for the next six months,” read a statement from a leading local daily.
The bodies of the deceased Saudi nationals are likely to be flown to the Kingdom on Monday.