The incident occurred between the villages of Tayba al-Khawad and Deim al-Qaraiin Sudan on Wednesday, Feb. 11
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NEED TO KNOW
- At least 15 people have died after a passenger ferry carrying 27 capsized on the River Nile in Sudan
- Confirming the tragedy, the Sudan Doctors Network said that the occupants of the vessel, which was crossing between the villages of Tayba al-Khawad and Deim al-Qarai, included women, children and the elderly
- The organization said that the incident reveals the “fragility of river transport” in a country that relies on it
At least 15 people have died after a ferry capsized on the River Nile in Sudan.
On Wednesday, Feb. 11, the Sudan Doctors Network announced in a post on Facebook that a boat carrying over 27 people went down with occupants including women, children and the elderly.
The medical group noted in their statement that while fifteen bodies had been recovered and six people were known to have survived, "local residents and government civil defense teams are still searching for the remaining victims."
The statement went on to call the incident a "painful humanitarian tragedy" that "reveals the fragility of river transport and the absence of basic safety requirements."
The organization shared that the incident took place when the boat was crossing the river between the villages of Tayba al-Khawad and Deim al-Qarai in Sudan. Per local news outlet, Asharq Al-Awsat, many Sudanese people rely on river transport via single-engine boats captained by solo operators.
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The Sudan Doctors' Network also called out the "complete absence of local authorities and civil defense rescue teams in the early hours of the incident," which "exacerbated the scale of the disaster."
The organization went on to urge “relevant authorities” to swiftly send “specialized rescue teams and search and recovery equipment, and to take immediate measures to ensure river transport safety and prevent the recurrence of such disasters that claim innocent lives."
PEOPLE has contacted Sudan Doctors Network and the United Nations for comment, but did not immediately receive a response from either organization.
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Several tragedies have previously taken place on the River Nile.
In 2018, a health worker and 24 schoolchildren who were on their way to school drowned after their boat's engine failed and the vessel went down, according to the BBC.
Over 40 children were on the boat at the time when it passed through a strong current near the River Nile.
The school's principal told the BBC that after the children began to panic, they leaned to one side, causing the boat to overturn.
The incident came four years after over 200 people died when their boat sank on the River Nile while they were fleeing from fighting in Malakal, a city in South Sudan, per the BBC.
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