The capsizing of a boat carrying wedding guests on Monday in Pakistan left more than 50 people dead and missing, local authorities said on Wednesday, admitting they had given up hope of finding any survivors.

The boat, carrying more than 100 members of the same family, capsized while crossing the storm-swollen Indus River in Sadiqabad district, Punjab province.

Local authorities recovered the bodies of 26 people, mostly women and children, but many others are missing.

“More than 48 hours have passed since the accident, so there is no possibility of finding survivors,” Kashif Nisar Gill, a spokesman for the district administration, told AFP.

Most of the survivors are men who managed to swim to shore, Gill said.

In Pakistan, women do not usually learn to swim, as their behavior in public is still largely guided by conservative behavior.

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