At Least 21 Dead in Ferry Sinking in Northern Sudan’s River Nile State. Khartoum, Sudan — At least 21 people have drowned, with others reported missing, following the sinking of a passenger ferry on the Nile in northern Sudan’s River Nile State, according to civil defence officials.
The Sudanese Sovereignty Council issued a press statement expressing sorrow for the loss of 21 lives, including women and children.
Police Major General Qurashi Hussein, Sudan’s assistant director general of civil defence, told Al Jazeera that six or seven people had been rescued, with efforts ongoing to locate approximately a dozen others believed to be missing.
The ferry, a wooden vessel, was carrying between 30-35 passengers, including women, elderly individuals, and children, when it sank on Wednesday evening while en route between the villages of Tayba al-Khawad and Deim al-Qarai in River Nile State. Hussein confirmed that teams from Khartoum, the Sudanese capital, have been deployed to assist in the recovery operation, with all civil defence teams in River Nile State actively involved in the search.
“Our teams are still searching for bodies of those who drowned in the Nile,” he stated.
The Sudan Doctors Network, an association of Sudanese medical professionals, criticized the “fragility of river transport” in the country and the “absence of basic safety requirements” in a post on X.
The group also alleged a slow response from local authorities and civil defence teams in the initial hours following the sinking, which they claim exacerbated the scale of the disaster.
The Sudan Doctors Network demanded immediate measures to ensure the safety of river transport and prevent future tragedies.
Wednesday’s incident is not the first ferry disaster in River Nile State.
In 2018, at least 23 people, mostly children, drowned when their boat sank in the Nile while being transported to school. Officials have not yet commented on the cause of the latest sinking.
Further details are expected as the situation develops.
