At least 21 dead in ferry sinking in northern Sudan's River Nile State

"At least six people have been rescued, while efforts are ongoing to locate about a dozen people still missing, officials say. At least 21 people have drowned, while others remain missing, after a passenger ferry sank on the Nile in northern Sudan's River Nile State, civil defence officials have said, in the war-ravaged nation."

"Police Major General Qurashi Hussein, Sudan's assistant director general of civil defence, told Al Jazeera on Thursday that six or seven people had been rescued, while efforts were continuing to recover about a dozen people believed missing. The wooden passenger ferry had been carrying 30-35 passengers, including women, elderly people and children, when it sank on Wednesday evening while travelling between the villages of Tayba al-Khawad and Deim al-Qarai in River Nile State, Hussein said."

"The Sudan Doctors Network, an association of Sudanese medical professionals, said in a post on X that the tragedy highlighted the fragility of river transport in the country and the absence of basic safety requirements. It also claimed that a slow response from local authorities and civil defence teams in the critical initial hours following the sinking had exacerbated the scale of the disaster."

A passenger ferry sank on the Nile in River Nile State in northern Sudan, resulting in at least 21 deaths and leaving around a dozen people missing. Six or seven people were rescued. The wooden ferry was carrying about 30–35 passengers, including women, elderly people and children, when it sank while travelling between Tayba al-Khawad and Deim al-Qarai. Civil defence teams from River Nile State and reinforcements from Khartoum have been mobilised to search for bodies and survivors. The Sudan Doctors Network criticised weak river-safety measures and slow early responses and demanded immediate action. Previous river tragedies have occurred in the state.

Read at www.aljazeera.com