Twenty-two children drowned today when their boat sank in the Nile in Sudan while they were on their way to school, official media said.

A woman also died when the vessel went down around 750 kilometres north of the capital Khartoum with more than 40 children on board, the SUNA agency reported.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)</s>At least 22 people have been killed after a boat sank while crossing the Nile River in Sudan.

Reports said at least 21 students and a woman died after the boat sank in the northern River Nile state as a result of a technical failure.

There were around 40 pupils on the boat, which was taking them to school.

The woman who drowned was an employee at a local hospital, according to reports.

The SUNA agency said the boat sank after one of its engines broke down at the middle of the river. The victims' bodies have not yet been recovered.

Sudan suffers monsoon rains which regularly last from June to November and cause the Nile and its tributaries to overflow. The Nile is an important transport route for people and goods in the African nation.

One of the world's longest rivers, the Nile is formed from two major tributaries, the White Nile and the Blue Nile, which meet just north of Sudan's capital, Khartoum.</s>At least 22 primary school children drown after boat sinks in Sudan

At least 22 children drowned on their way to school when their boat capsized in swollen waters of the Nile river north of the Sudanese capital yesterday, official media said. A woman on board also died when the vessel carrying more than 40 children sank about 750 kilometres from the capital, SUNA news agency reported.

Rescue workers were sent to recover victims’ bodies, according to the Sudanese civil defence and a witness.

“This morning, 22 schoolchildren and one woman died when their boat sank in Bouhayra in Nile State as they travelled to school from Kneissa,” SUNA reported.

“The accident was caused by engine failure half-way across because of a strong current,” it said.

According to witness Ibrahim Hassan, at least nine children survived the ordeal.

SUNA said the small boat was overloaded, carrying about 30 sacks of sweet potatoes and 10 bags of grain in addition to the children and the woman, an employee at a local hospital.

Villagers in the region rely on wooden boats to cross the Nile.

Another witness told AFP by telephone that the boat had been crossing the river against the current.

“All the families (in the area) are in mourning,” said the witness, who did not want to be named.

In the deadliest Nile accident of its kind in Sudan, 50 students drowned in August 2000 when their wooden barge overturned 350 kilometres southeast of Khartoum.

In September 2014, 13 Sudanese drowned when a boat sank north of Khartoum.

The Nile, which is nearly 6,700 kilometres long, is formed by the convergence of the White Nile, which has its source in Lake Victoria, and the Blue Nile, which originates in Ethiopia’s Lake Tana.

The two rivers meet in Khartoum before the Nile crosses through Egypt to reach the Mediterranean.

Water levels in the Nile rise every year during the rainy season in Ethiopia, and United Nations aid agencies regularly warn of floods in Sudan between July and November.

Heavy rains in Khartoum yesterday morning flooded the capital’s streets and electricity was cut in most neighbourhoods.

Authorities in the capital announced the suspension of classes until the end of the Islamic holiday of Eid al-Adha on August 25.

In August 2013, floods killed 50 people, most of them in Khartoum.

The floods, the most serious to hit the Sudanese capital in 25 years according to the UN, effected hundreds of thousands of people. – AFP</s>Sudan's state news agency says boat sinks in the Nile, killing 21 students and a woman

CAIRO (AP) — Sudan's state news agency says boat sinks in the Nile, killing 21 students and a woman.</s>CAIRO (AP) - A boat sank on Wednesday while crossing the Nile River in Sudan and at least 22 people drowned, including 21 students and a woman, the country's state news agency reported.

The boat was carrying more than 40 students on their way to school in the northern River Nile state, SUNA said. The report did not say how old the students were.

The woman who drowned was an employee at a local hospital, according to the news agency.

SUNA said the boat sank after one of its engines broke down at the middle of the river. The victims' bodies have not yet been recovered, the report said.

Sudan suffers monsoon rains which regularly last from June to November and cause the Nile and its tributaries to overflow. The Nile is an important transport route for people and goods in the African nation.

One of the world's longest rivers, the Nile is formed from two major tributaries, the White Nile and the Blue Nile, which meet just north of Sudan's capital, Khartoum.</s>At least 22 dead, majority children, as boat sinks in River Nile in Sudan

(SKY NEWS) – At least 23 people, the majority of whom are children, have died after a boat sank in the River Nile in Sudan.

The boat was carrying more than 40 pupils on their way to school in the north of the country, before suffering a technical failure, according to Sudan’s state news agency.

At least 22 students and a woman were killed in the country’s northern River Nile state, with civil defence forces searching waters for the missing, but are yet to recover any bodies.

A female hospital employee was among those drowned some 470 miles north of Sudan’s capital Khartoum.

“The accident was caused by engine failure halfway across because of a strong current,” said the SUNA news agency.

It also reported the small boat was overloaded with about 30 sacks of sweet potatoes and 10 bags of grain, in addition to the human cargo.

One witness said at least nine children survived the tragedy.

The River Nile state is one of 18 wilayat (states) of Sudan, with an estimated population of more than one million, where locals rely on wooden boats to cross the waterway.

Sudan experiences monsoon rains between June and November, which cause the River Nile and its tributaries to overflow.

United Nations aid agencies regularly warn of floods during this period.

Khartoum sits where the White Nile, which flows north from Lake Victoria, meets the Blue Nile, which flows west from Ethiopia.

Classes have been suspended in the capital until August 25 due to heavy rains in Khartoum flooding streets and amid power outages.

At nearly 6,700km (4,160 miles) in length, the River Nile is argued by many to be the world’s longest river.

It is an important transport route for goods and people in much of northeastern Africa.

In August 2000, 50 students drowned when their wooden barge overturned southeast of Khartoum.

Another boat tragedy, in September 2014, saw 13 people drowned north of the capital.</s>CAIRO (AP) — Sudan’s state news agency says boat sinks in the Nile, killing 21 students and a woman.</s>At least 22 primary school children drowned on Wednesday when a boat carrying more than 40 people sank while crossing the Nile in northern Sudan, state news agency SUNA said.

Civil defence forces were searching the waters for the bodies of the missing children, the agency added. A female hospital employee also drowned.

It said the boat’s engine failed in a high current while it was cross the river to a school in Kabna, a small village in northern Sudan. The woman was identified as a hospital employee in the village.</s>CAIRO — Sudan’s state news agency says a boat sank while crossing the Nile River, killing at least 21 students and a woman.

SUNA said the boat was carrying more than 40 students on their way to school in the northern River Nile state on Wednesday. The report did not say how old the students were.

It says the boat sank because of a technical failure.</s>At least 22 children have drowned in Sudan when their boat sank in the Nile while they were on their way to school, according to official media.

A woman also died when the vessel went down around 750km north of the capital, Khartoum, with more than 40 children on board, the SUNA news agency reported on Wednesday.

The accident occurred when the boat's engine broke down as result of heavy rains and winds in Beheir district in the Nile River state.

Civil defense forces were still searching the Nile river for the bodies of the victims.

Villagers in the region rely on wooden boats to cross the Nile.

 

A witness told AFP news agency by telephone that the boat had been crossing the river against the current.

 

"All the families [in the area] are in mourning," added the witness, who did not want to be named.

Earlier on Wednesday, Sudanese authorities ordered the closure of schools across Khartoum amid heavy torrential rains and winds that have destroyed hundreds of homes in some provinces, including North Darfur and North Kordofan.

Nearly 40 people have been killed due to heavy rains since last week, including 10 in Khartoum, according to local media.
22 children and a woman drown after their boat sinks in the Nile in Sudan while travelling to school.