Funeral held for Pakistani athlete who died in migrant boat crash
17 March 2023, 09:04
The vessel carrying Shahiza Raza and 170 others set sail from the Turkish port of Izmir last month.
Mourners have attended the funeral of a Pakistani female field hockey player who died in a migrant boat crash off Italy’s coast.
The vessel carrying Shahiza Raza and 170 others set sail from the Turkish port of Izmir last month.
On board were people – from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran and other countries – seeking a better quality of life in Europe.
The boat broke apart in rough waters off Calabria, leading to the deaths of Ms Raza and at least 66 others.
Ms Raza’s funeral and burial took place in Quetta, the capital of the southwestern Baluchistan province, a day after her body was repatriated from Italy with help from the country’s foreign ministry.
Ms Raza’s family said she tried to emigrate to Europe to find a good job and earn money for the treatment of her disabled son, three, so he could live a normal life.
The boy, who was not on the boat, suffered brain damage as a baby and is paralysed on one side of his body.
He remained in Pakistan.
Photographs of Ms Raza donning the country’s national colours and sporting accolades have appeared on television and social media.
But, with women’s sports not widely televised in Pakistan, most people only came to know of her after her death, which sent a wave of shock and grief through the nation.
