Deir Ezzor, July 13 (SANA) The death toll from Sunday’s ferry capsizing on the Euphrates River has risen to four as rescue teams continue searching for missing passengers for a second consecutive day.
The Syrian Civil Defense said on Monday that the victims included three children and a young man. Local residents found the young man’s body in the Euphrates near Jdeidet al-Bakkara village in the eastern countryside of Deir Ezzor, about 25 kilometers downstream from the site of the accident. Rescue teams transferred the body to the National Hospital in Deir Ezzor.
The Civil Defense also said one of its rescue workers was injured during the operation because of strong currents in the Euphrates River.
Emergency teams were dispatched early Sunday after a makeshift ferry carrying more than 35 passengers suffered a mechanical failure and drifted into a newly installed military pontoon bridge, causing it to capsize.
Civil Defense teams, working in coordination with local residents, the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Defense, have rescued 15 people so far, while the search continues for the remaining missing passengers.
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