Authorities in Sudan have confirmed that the death toll of a ferry capsizing incident that occurred in River Nile State in the country's northeast earlier this week has increased to 21 following the recovery of additional bodies.
Local civil defence officials issued the statement on the revised total of casualties resulting from the loss of the unnamed vessel in River Nile State's Shendi district on Wednesday, February 11.
The ill-fated vessel was transiting the stretch of the Nile River between the areas of Tayba Al-Khawad and Deim Al-Qarai in Shendi when the incident occurred on Wednesday evening (local time).
Of the 27 people who were believed to have been on the boat at the time, 15 were initially reported as deceased while only six survivors have been rescued.
The total number of fatalities, which also included women and small children, grew to 21 as search and recovery (SAR) operations continued.
A senior civil defence official told Al Jazeera on Thursday that SAR teams are still combing the Nile River for traces of any other individuals who may have also been on the boat when the incident occurred.
Local medical group Sudan Doctors Network said earlier that the tragedy has revealed, "the fragility of river transport and the absence of basic safety requirements," while the, "complete absence of local authorities and civil defence rescue teams in the early hours of the incident...exacerbated the scale of the disaster."
