MOSUL, Iraq: A ferry packed with families celebrating Kurdish New Year sank in a swollen river in the former jihadist stronghold of Mosul on Thursday, leaving more than 70 people dead in Iraq’s worst accident in years.There was an outpouring of grief among residents who only recently resumed festivities on the banks of the Tigris after the northern city’s recapture from the Islamic State group. The vessel was packed with men, women and children crossing the Tigris to go to a popular picnic area to celebrate Nauroz, the Kurdish New Year and a holiday day across the country.While war and attacks have claimed hundreds of thousands of lives in Iraq in recent years, such accidents are relatively rare. “It’s a disaster, no one expected that,” said a young man who had just managed to reach the shore. “There were a lot of people on the boat, especially women and children,” he said.Seventy-one people died including 19 children, according to interior ministry spokesman Saad Maan, while 55 people were rescued. “The boat sank because there were too many passengers on board, more than a hundred,” another security official based in Mosul said.
03-22-2019, 10:10 AM
Dozens dead as ferry sinks in north Iraq
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