Almost 100, mostly women and children, dead in Iraq as ferry sinks in Tigris river

The Kurdish New Year celebration turned fatal for several families in Iraq as the boat they were sailing on sank in the Tigris in Mosul, killing almost 100 people.

Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi has ordered a swift investigation into the incident. He has also declared three days of national mourning.

The passengers that included men, women and children were on their way to Umm Rabaen, a tourist island, when their overloaded vessel tilted sharply to the right and took on water, before flipping over entirely and being dragged swiftly downstream by the fast-flowing river.

The interior ministry has said that 94 people, including 61 women and 19 children, died while 55 were rescued. 

Nowruz, the Kurdish New Year, which marks the start of Spring coincided with Mother's Day in Iraq this year.

An AFP report has quoted a Mosul security source as saying that the high water levels and overcrowding on the boat, with well over 100 people on board, had been to blame for the disaster.

The government has ordered the arrest of nine ferry company officials and banned the owners of the vessel.