The Death Toll from the Tigris River Incident Reaches One Hundred

According to reports, the death toll from the sinking of a passenger ship in the Tigris River has reached approximately one hundred, and searches for the missing continue. On Friday, March 1st, the German news agency reported, citing officials from Iraq's Nineveh province, that the number of victims has reached at least one hundred. However, other news agencies have mentioned a toll of at least 97 victims. Additionally, reports indicate that the search for the missing persons from this incident continued on Friday at the site of the shipwreck. Following the incident, Barham Salih, the President of Iraq, traveled to Mosul, the capital of Nineveh province, to meet and discuss with the province's security officials. Adel Abdul-Mahdi, the Prime Minister of Iraq, also issued an order for investigations into this incident after a brief visit to Mosul. The Prime Minister emphasized that the government would exert all its efforts to find the missing and treat the survivors, declaring three days of public mourning. The passenger ship was en route to a small recreational island in the Tigris River named 'Um Rabi'een' during the Nowruz celebrations when it encountered the accident. Most of the passengers were women and children. According to Ahmed al-Jabouri, a representative of Nineveh in the Iraqi parliament, the ship was carrying 287 people, and currently, 118 of them are missing. Iraqi judicial officials reported that nine crew members of the ship have been arrested, and an arrest warrant has been issued for the owner of the tourist island. Iraqi officials stated that the ship was carrying more than double its capacity and capsized midway due to rising water levels in the river. Iraqi media and social networks have reported on the public anger in Mosul, noting that some protesters shouted slogans in the path of vehicles carrying the President and the parliamentary representative. Bahram Qasemi, the spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, expressed condolences over the incident. The U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, as well as Israel, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and several other countries, have also expressed sympathy with the people of Iraq and the families of the victims. Reports indicate that Iraqi government agencies had previously warned travelers about the rising water levels of the Tigris River.