KOT ADDU: At least 11 people were killed after a loader rickshaw carrying members of a wedding party plunged into a canal in Kot Addu’s Sinanwan area of Muzaffargarh district.

According to Rescue 1122 officials, the accident occurred when the rickshaw carrying more than 24 members of a family, including women and children, lost control and fell into the canal.

The family was travelling with a wedding procession to attend a marriage ceremony when the tragedy occurred.

The incident turned the wedding celebrations into mourning as a large number of passengers were swept away in the canal.

People present at the scene initially launched a rescue operation on their own and managed to pull some passengers to safety before emergency teams arrived.Following the incident, Rescue 1122 teams, police and the district administration launched a large-scale search and rescue operation.

Rescue officials said that 11 people were rescued alive and shifted to hospital for medical treatment.

Meanwhile, 11 bodies have so far been recovered from the canal, while two other passengers remain missing, rescue officials said.

Officials said children aged between three and 14 years are among those reported missing.

Rescue teams have expanded the search operation to an area extending approximately 20 kilometres from the site of the accident as they continue efforts to locate the missing passengers.

Divers and other rescue personnel are taking part in the operation, while police and administration officials are also present at the site to coordinate the response.

The search operation was still under way as efforts continued to trace the remaining missing members of the wedding party.

The exact circumstances that caused the rickshaw to lose control and plunge into the canal were not immediately clear.