Mosul (Iraq), Mar 21 (IANS): As many as 55 people were drowned, including 12 children, as an overcrowded ferry capsized in Iraq's Tigris river near Mosul, reported CNN.
Nearly 150 people were on board, including around 80 women and children, according to health ministry spokesman Saif al-Badr.
The ferry, which was transporting people to a small tourist island, capsized halfway because of high water levels in the river, according to Nineveh mayor, Abd al-Sattar Habu.
While several bodies have been retrieved, search operations are on, he said.
"The Department of Water Resources warned a few days ago that the level of water will rise as a result of the opening of dams," Habu said.