At least nine people died when a rescue boat overturned during flood relief efforts in Pakistan, authorities said on Friday. The incident took place in a village near fine on Thursday, said a statement by the Provincial Authority of Disaster Management (PDMA) of Punjab.
He said the boat had rescued 24 people from flooded villages when it overturned, and added that the remaining 15 were safely removed from the water.
Rescue officials say that villagers have refused to leave their homes in some parts of the Pakistan rural, especially without their cows, goats and other animals, one of their main sources of income, which often lead to forced evacuations.
Rescue work in the region is “difficult because people are not cooperating,” the authority said. The floods caused by the heavy monsoon rains of this year and the swollen rivers have killed 946 people, including 97 in the province, in Pakistan since the end of June, and large crop stripes.
The authorities say that the floods have submerged more than 4,500 villages, affecting more than 4.4 million people in the province since the end of August. At least 2.4 million people have been evacuated so far, they say.
Last week, five people, including a woman and four children, had lost their lives after a boat that transported flood victims overturned during an evacuation operation in Jalalpur Pirwala.
According to the 1122 rescue, more than 20 people were on board when the boat climbed into the strong water currents. The rescue teams responded quickly and managed to save more than a dozen people.
