March22,2019

Nearly 200 passengers boarded the vessel on the waterway from the city of Mosul to Umm Rabaen Island to celebrate Persian New Year ‘Nowruz’ and Mother's Day on the tourist island. However, the ferry sank, causing more than 100 people dead, most of who are women and children, not able to swim.

The main reason for the shipwreck was that the crew let too many passengers board the ship, making the ship overloaded. And, on the same day, the authorities warned that Mosul’s Gate had opened and that the water level would rise. The flow of water into the ship was very fast. 

After the accident, Adel Abdul Mahdi, Iraq Prime Minister, visited Mosul and announced the three-day mourning. The Ministry of Justice also ordered to arrest the nine workers who operate ferries. However, according to local sources, security forces tried to arrest journalists to prevent the disclosure of the ferry shipwreck. The protesters threw stones at the vehicles of the provincial governor, and the relatives of the victims gathered outside the hospital to shout for no corruption.

The City of Mosul has been occupied by the Islamic State Group since June 2014. After the Iraqi army supported by the US government had been fighting for nine months and regained the city, the local area was still under reconstruction. This shipwreck undoubtedly made it worse, adding more pain to the local residents.