Death toll in Iraq ferry accident rises to 54; 28 missing

21 March 2019, 4:46 pm

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At least 54 people have died after an overcrowded ferry carrying families sank in the Tigris river in northern Iraq during Kurdish New Year celebrations, officials say.

Another 28 people are missing after the disaster in the city of Mosul, according to an interior ministry official who did not want to be named.

“The boat sank because there were too many passengers on board, more than a hundred,” another security official based in Mosul tells AFP.

The vessel was packed with men, women and children crossing the Tigris to go to a popular picnic area, he says.

The authorities had warned people to be careful after several days of heavy rains led to water being released through the Mosul dam, causing the river level to rise.

— AFP