Many die in Bahrain boat disaster
At least 57 people have died after a crowded pleasure boat capsized in
the Gulf off the coast of Bahrain.
Most of the passengers on board when the two-deck Arabic dhow keeled
over were foreigners from a construction firm enjoying an evening
dinner cruise.
The confirmed dead include 18 Indians and 13 Britons, Bahrain interior
ministry officials have said.
At least 63 people were rescued from the al-Dana vessel, which
capsized in calm seas not far from the shoreline.
Identification difficult
The passengers were mostly foreigners from local construction company
Nass, Murray and Roberts who were celebrating the completion of a
building contract in Bahrain.
We saw [the ship] leaning on its side quickly then it capsized and
its lights turned off
Abd Ali Muhammad Hassan, eyewitness
Unofficial tallies suggested that 25 Britons, 20 Filipinos, 10 South
Africans and 10 Egyptians were among those on board.
The UK's acting ambassador in Bahrain, Steve Harrison, told the BBC it
was difficult to confirm how many Britons had died as there was no
definitive passenger list and identification was proving difficult.
"It was a party and quite a few of those on board were not carrying
identification," he said.
'Too little time'
Bahrain's coastguard chief Yussef al-Ghatim told AFP news agency "the
organiser of the trip said 150 people were invited but some 14 to 20
may have gotten off before it sailed".
The boat capsized at about 2145 local time (1845 GMT), near one of the
bridges linking the capital Manama with al-Muharraq island, Mr
al-Ghatim said.
An Indian barman who had been onboard told the Gulf Daily News that
the boat had "rocked badly and tilted over" after hitting a wave.
"The refrigerator and cooker all slid to one side of the boat and with
that extra weight, the boat couldn't sustain it any longer and we
rolled," he said.
The paper was also said a South African man had warned the passengers
not to gather on the dhow's upper deck before it set out.
"He got the microphone and told them to go down because the boat was
rocking from side to side," a witness said. "There were life jackets
on board, but the boat toppled very fast - there wasn't enough time."
Eyewitnesses told the BBC how the al-Dara dramatically capsized in
apparently calm waters as it made a turn.
'Overcrowded'
Abd Ali Muhammad Hussan told the BBC Arabic service the boat had
quickly got into trouble.
"We saw it leaning on its side quickly then it capsized and its lights
turned off.
"We moved backward towards them and managed to save seven of the
crew... The people we saved were foreign tourists, not Bahrainis," Mr
Hassan said.
The incident happened less than a mile off the coast, Bahraini and US
officials said. The harbour waters are generally shallow but with some
deep channels.
Correspondents and eyewitnesses reported the boat appeared heavily
overcrowded before it set off into the harbour.
Bahrain's coastguard service launched an immediate rescue operation,
reaching the scene within minutes.
US divers and small naval craft from the US 5th Fleet also joined the
rescue efforts.
"We were nearby - it happened about one mile east of where we're
headquartered so as soon as we got the call we immediately started to
move our people and our boats to that area within probably about 15 or
20 minutes," Commander Jeff Breslau, spokesman for the US 5th Fleet,
told the BBC.
"We provided a US Coastguard cutter, along with 16 divers, one
helicopter in the air and another on standby in order to support
whatever the Bahrainis needed for the effort," he said.
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Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/middle_east/4862948.stm
Published: 2006/03/31 08:43:36 GMT
(c) BBC MMVI
--
TUMCHER AXIRVAD ASSUM;
DEV BOREM KORUM.
Gabe Menezes.
London, England
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