aftermath of the ferry boat accident in Mosul were 104 died

22-03-2019 at 19:23 | Islam Al Rajhi
The Iraqi Interior Ministry said on Friday that the number of victims of the disaster has risen to 103 people, mostly women and children, while the authorities continue to search for missing persons, estimated by the Iraqi Human Rights Commission with 56 people.

A local official in the city of Mosul, said that "rescue teams deployed at a distance of several kilometers, south of the scene, in search of missing may be washed away because of the rapid flow of water."

He pointed out that it was decided to expand search and rescue efforts within 50 km of the Tigris River, with the closure of the gates of the Mosul Dam, to reduce the speed of river flow.

"Searches continued all night long and will continue until all the missing are found," he said, although he hinted that "the hopes of rescue teams to find neighborhoods are now virtually non-existent."

For his part, said a member of the Commission on Human Rights (an independent body linked to the parliament); "Ali al-Bayati," the number of people who reported the loss of 56 people. "

"The capacity of the ferry 75 people, while the number of passengers exceeded 200, according to the tickets," pointing out that they are made of iron and "worn out".

"The crossing is old, established in 1979, used to transport people from the left (east) side to the tourist island, the ferry is moving with ropes, or wires tied to the other side of the river bank."

And on the safety measures, he explained, "Bayati," that "the island where one river boat rescue," noting that most of the boats involved in the rescue of citizens, and not affiliated to the island or the government.

For his part, the judge appointed by the Supreme Judicial Council to follow up the sinking of the ferry, ordered the arrest of the owner of the tourist island in Mosul, owner of the ferry, and 9 other staff to investigate about the tragic incident.

This comes as information circulated about the investor's escape from the city to the Kurdistan region of Iraq, and its links with armed factions in the city, like most investment projects in Mosul, after the liberation of the organization of the "Islamic State" in 2017.

On Thursday, dozens of people, mostly children and women, were killed when a tourist ferry sank in the Tigris River during the Nawruz celebrations, for the first time since the liberation of their city from the control of the Islamic State.