Scores dead as ferry sinks in Tigris River near Iraq’s Mosul

Editor | March 21, 2019 | اخبار العالم | No Comments

Scores of people have died after a ferry carrying families celebrating the Nowruz holiday capsized in the Tigris River near the Iraqi city of Mosul, according to officials.

In a visit to the site of the accident on Thursday, Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi ordered an inquiry and said those responsible would be held accountable.

Major General Saad Maan, a spokesman for the interior ministry, said at least 71 people were killed in the accident. The Associated Press cited an Iraqi health official as putting the number of fatalities at 83.

At least 55 people, including 19 children, were rescued, officials said.

“I was standing near the river back when suddenly the ferry started to tilt left and right, and passengers began screaming before it capsized,” Mohamed Masoud, a local civil servant, told Reuters news agency.

“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.”

Al Jazeera’s Natasha Ghoneim, reporting from the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, said footage posted on social media showed “a very distressing picture” at what appeared to be a theme park.

“We are seeing video of what appears to be a ferry upside down … people jumping into the Tigris River in an attempt to rescue others. We can hear people along the banks screaming and we can see several people swimming furiously in what appears to be a rather swift current.”

Hussam Khalil, head of the Civil Defense in the northern Nineveh province, told AP that the vessel had sunk due to a technical problem.

Another security official was quoted as saying by AFP that “the boat sank because there were too many passengers on board, more than 100.”

Nowruz, which marks the Kurdish new year and the arrival of spring, is celebrated across territories that once made up the ancient Persian empire, stretching from the Middle East to Central Asia.

The holiday is celebrated as the Persian New Year in Iran.