Eight - including three Saudis - drown at Pakistan beach

Stormy waters off Pakistan's coast has led to the deaths of at least eight bathers at Karachi's beach, local media have reported.

Among the dead was a family of five and three Saudis in the drownings at Hawkesbay Beach in Karachi, including the son of the Gulf kingdom's vice-consul general to Pakistan.

Alaa Bin Attiya al-Quthami and Abdullah Bin Faleh al-Subai both worked at the Saudi consulate in Karachi, south Pakistan, while Fahad Fihan al-Usaimi was the son of the vice-consul general.

The Saudi consulate told media that the three were swimming in stormy waters off a Karachi beach when they were carried away by strong waves and drowned. 

A family for five also drowned nearby, including a 16-year-old girl, who had ventured into the waters while enjoying a picnic near Hawkesbay Beach, according to Geo TV.

Pakistan is witnessing particularly rough waters as the monsoon season kicks in.

Southern areas in the Arabian Peninsula - such as Dhofar in Oman - also experience the monsoon cycle, known locally as "khareef", which sees wet weather and stormy seas attract tourists from elsewhere in the Gulf.