Forty-nine children died when their overloaded boat capsized in northwest Pakistan, police said Tuesday after divers spent three days dragging bodies from freezing waters.

The boys aged between seven and 14 were all students of a madrassa and had been taken for a day trip to the scenic Tanda Dam lake on Sunday.

Khateer Ahmad, a senior official with Rescue 1122 said that the water of the dam was freezing due to cold weather that impeded the rescue mission but today the divers were able to dive deep to recover the remaining bodies. The bodies of a teacher and one skipper were also pulled from the water, he added, bringing the death toll to 51.

Muhammad Umar, who sells tea at a picnic site overlooking the popular weekend tourist destination, said dozens of parents and relatives had gathered over the past few days and that everytime a body was recovered from the scene, they would jump onto the diver to see if it was their son and every time we would hear them screaming in pain and anguish. He said had not witnessed such scenes in his life, that it was something that could not be explained in words.

Police spokesperson Fazal Naeem issued the new death toll on Tuesday after the end of the rescue mission. It was confirmed by the military’s media wing. He also said that the boat was overloaded; its capacity was around 20 to 25 persons.