102 reported dead after ferry capsizes in Tigris River

by Vanessa Alan
edited by Ian Keating

On Thursday, a ferry filled past its capacity capsized in the Tigris River killing 102 people, according to CNN.

Sixty of the original 170 people on board are still missing. Among the victims, at least 12 were children.

People on the ferry were celebrating Nowruz, the Iranian new year, and Mother’s Day. The ferry was leaving from a bank of the Tigris River for a small tourist island, Umm al-Rabeein.

(Photo: Dûrzan Cîrano)

“My family was happy and preparing good to celebrate Nowruz,” said survivor Omtir Tajuddin, who lost his mother from the capsizing of the ferry. “She survived ISIS only to die in the ferry that sailed only a hundred meter from the shore to Umm al-Rabeein Island. We are a people without value,” Tajuddin added.

Civil Defense General Manager Brigadier Malik Bohan made a statement to state-owned Al Iraqiya, that the ferry was overloaded by twice its capacity.

After the capsizing, rescuers were able to recover numerous bodies from the river and search team operations are still ongoing. It is said that the boat capsized halfway because the river had high water levels.

According to a statement after the tragedy, Minister Adil Abdul al-Mahdi ordered an immediate investigation and for any findings to be presented to him within 24 hours.

The US Embassy in Baghdad released a statement offering their condolences to families of the fallen victims.