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News > World

Over 80 Killed as Overloaded Ferry Sinks in Iraq's Tigris River

  • Iraqi rescues are seen near the site where an overloaded ferry sank in the Tigris river near Mosul in Iraq, March, 21,2019.

    Iraqi rescues are seen near the site where an overloaded ferry sank in the Tigris river near Mosul in Iraq, March, 21,2019. | Photo: Reuters

Published 21 March 2019
Opinion

Most of the casualties on the ferry were women and children who could not swim, said the head of Mosul's Civil Defence Authority Husam Khalil.

At least 83 people died when an overloaded ferry sank in the Tigris River near Mosul in Iraq, medical sources told Reuters on Thursday.

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Most of the casualties on the ferry were women and children who could not swim, said the head of Mosul's Civil Defence Authority Husam Khalil.

A separate source in the Civil Defence Authority said the boat had been loaded with twice its capacity, causing it to capsize.

Mobile phone footage showed the ferry sinking into the muddy water and people shouting for help.

Mohamed Masoud, a local civil servant, told Reuters, "I saw women and children waving with their hands begging for help but no one was there to rescue them. I don't know how to swim. I couldn't help. I feel guilty. I watched people drown."

Of the 150 passengers, rescue personnel have rescued 41 people so far, Khalil said.

Omtir Tajuddin, a survivor of the wreck, told CNN, "My family was happy and preparing food to celebrate Nowruz.

"Is it conceivable that my mother goes on Mother's Day? She survived ISIS only to die in the ferry that sailed only a hundred meters from the shore to Umm al-Rabeein Island. We are a people without value," Tajuddin.

The accident took place to the north of the city, near a recreational area popular with families.

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