Death toll mounts to 102 in Iraq ferry disaster
Mosul [Iraq], Mar 24 (ANI): 102 people lost their lives after an overcrowded ferry capsized in the Tigris River near Mosul on Thursday. 60 people still remain missing following the tragedy.
ANI
Mar 24, 2019 04:06 IST
Mosul [Iraq], Mar 24 (ANI): 102 people lost their lives after an overcrowded ferry capsized in the Tigris River near Mosul on Thursday. 60 people still remain missing following the tragedy.
Celebrating Nowruz, or the Persian New Year, and Mother's Day, 170 people were on-board the ferry which was going towards a tourist island called Umm al-Rabeein when the mishap occurred. 12 children are amongst the victims from the tragedy.
"My family was happy and preparing food to celebrate Nowruz," Omtir Tajuddin, a survivor from the ferry disaster told CNN. He lost his mother in the tragedy.
"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," he said.
While a number of bodies have been recovered, search operations are ongoing at the site of the incident.
Authorities believe that the boat capsized halfway due to high water levels in the river. Civil Defence General Manager Brigadier Malik Bohan said that the ferry carried twice the permitted capacity. (ANI)
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