A crowded floating restaurant loaded with dozens of guests sank in the Tigris River in central Baghdad late yesterday, leaving at least eight people dead and several others missing, according to officials.
The tragedy appeared to be an accident, with police saying the boat was over its capacity when it went down. Iraqi river police and a security official said there was no indication that a terrorist act was to blame.
Divers worked through the night and into Friday in murky waters to recover bodies from a partially sunken floating restaurant in Baghdad after an accident killed nine people attending a party for the local Caterpillar distributor.
The body of one man dressed in a black jacket was pulled to the surface around midday, drawing plaintive cries of "Allahu Akbar," or "God is great," from waiting family members on the banks of the Tigris River.
Plates of half-eaten food remained on restaurant tables onshore, a testament to the previous evening's panic.
The vessel was part of a popular Lebanese restaurant establishment in the Iraqi capital’s Karrada district.
The restaurant is one of several new businesses that have sprung up as Iraq’s economy has begun to improve in the years since the US-led invasion nearly a decade ago.
Ameer Ahmed was on board the boat when it started to go down and managed to swim to safety. He said the whole accident happened in a matter of minutes, and that there was a stampede as crowds tried to escape through the narrow door.
"The windows on the right side smashed inwards, flooding us with water," he said. "The scene reminded me of the movie 'Titanic.' I was lucky because I know how to swim."
Those on board the boat were attending an employee appreciation event for the local distributor of the bulldozer and heavy machinery manufacturer Caterpillar Inc.
At least eight bodies were pulled from the river, and the whereabouts of another nine people were unknown, police and hospital officials said. About 30 people were rescued initially, they said.
The muddy river water left divers with zero visibility, forcing them to search only by hand as they avoided chairs and other debris inside the submerged restaurant, he said. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was under orders not to talk to the media.
Local TV aired footage showing people gathered at the entrance to the restaurant as bodies in black bags were loaded onto ambulances.
According to police, the boat had been moored to the riverbank and there appeared to be signs of decay on the metal joints that kept it attached to shore.
Baghdad Fire Chief Laith Yas Abbas happened to be dining at the onshore part of the club when the accident occurred. He returned to the site Friday to help oversee the recovery effort.
He told The Associated Press that about 120 people were trying to take a group photo on one side of the boat when it began to take on water. That sparked a panic as guests rushed toward the exit.
It is unclear whether the facility was up to safety standards. Regulatory oversight remains weak and corruption is deeply entrenched in Iraq.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to release details to the media.
Friday 1 March 2013
http://www.arabnews.com/middle-east/8-die-9-missing-restaurant-boat-sinks-baghdad-river
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/restaurant-boat-sinks-baghdad-dead-18622370
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