Youth drowns in River Chenab

Wedding celebrations in a village in Gujrat turned into mourning after an 18-year-old youth from Lahore drowned while bathing in the River Chenab near Chopala village on Friday, with a Rescue 1122 search operation continuing for a second day. Rescue 1122 officials said, they received information on September 12 that a youth had drowned in the river near Thokar on Chopala Road. Rescue teams reached the site and launched a search operation shortly afterwards. Witnesses said the youth had been bathing in the river when he apparently entered deeper water and was swept under. Despite an immediate search, rescuers had been unable to locate him. Rescue officials identified the missing youth as 18-year-old Yahya, son of Muhammad Bashir, a resident of Mangowal. According to officials, he had travelled from Lahore to Chopala to attend a wedding ceremony when the incident occurred. Rescue 1122 officials said the second-day search operation involved scuba divers, line-search techniques and boats, with teams covering different sections of the river. According to Rescue 1122, the water at the site was around 15 feet deep, while the river was approximately 250 metres wide and carrying a flow of around 13,000 cusecs. Officials said the depth and strong current were making the search difficult.