Many die in Bahrain boat disaster

Many die in Bahrain boat disaster






At least 57 people have died after a crowded pleasure boat capsized in the Gulf off the coast of Bahrain.
Most of the passengers on board when the two-deck Arabic dhow keeled over were foreigners from a construction firm enjoying an evening dinner cruise.

The confirmed dead include 17 Indians and 13 Britons, Bahrain interior ministry officials have said.

At least 63 people were rescued from the al-Dana vessel, which capsized in calm seas not far from the shoreline.

Identification difficult

CONFIRMED DEAD
17 Indians
13 Britons
4 South Africans
4 Singaporeans
3 Pakistanis
3 Filipinos
1 Irish
1 German

The passengers were mostly foreigners from construction company Nass-Murray and Roberts who were celebrating completion of part of the Bahrain World Trade Centre towers.

Unofficial tallies suggested that 25 Britons, 20 Filipinos, 10 South Africans and 10 Egyptians were among those on board.

The UK's acting ambassador in Bahrain, Steve Harrison, told the BBC it was difficult to confirm how many Britons had died as there was no definitive passenger list and identification was proving difficult.

"It was a party and quite a few of those on board were not carrying identification," he said.

'Too little time'

Bahrain's coastguard chief Yussef al-Ghatim told AFP news agency "the organiser of the trip said 150 people were invited but some 14 to 20 may have gotten off before it sailed".



The boat capsized at about 2145 local time (1845 GMT), near one of the bridges linking the capital Manama with al-Muharraq island, Mr al-Ghatim said.

An Indian barman who had been onboard told the Gulf Daily News that the boat had "rocked badly and tilted over" after hitting a wave.

"The refrigerator and cooker all slid to one side of the boat and with that extra weight, the boat couldn't sustain it any longer and we rolled," he said.

The paper also said a South African man had warned the passengers not to gather on the dhow's upper deck before it set out.

"He got the microphone and told them to go down because the boat was rocking from side to side," a witness said. "There were life jackets on board, but the boat toppled very fast - there wasn't enough time."

Little warning

Eyewitnesses told the BBC how the al-Dara dramatically capsized in apparently calm waters as it made a turn.

We saw [the ship] leaning on its side quickly then it capsized and its lights turned off

Abd Ali Muhammad Hassan, eyewitness


In pictures: Bahrain disaster
Passengers' fight for survival
Shipping disasters timeline

Abd Ali Muhammad Hussan told the BBC Arabic service the boat had quickly got into trouble.

"We saw it leaning on its side quickly then it capsized and its lights turned off.

"We moved backward towards them and managed to save seven of the crew... The people we saved were foreign tourists, not Bahrainis," Mr Hassan said.

The incident happened less than a mile off the coast, Bahraini and US officials said. The harbour waters are generally shallow but with some deep channels.

'Overcrowded'

Correspondents and eyewitnesses reported the boat appeared heavily overcrowded before it set off into the harbour.


Rescue workers and volunteers pulled dozens of bodies ashore

Bahrain's coastguard service launched an immediate rescue operation, reaching the scene within minutes.

US divers and small naval craft from the US 5th Fleet also joined the rescue efforts.

"We were nearby - it happened about one mile east of where we're headquartered so as soon as we got the call we immediately started to move our people and our boats to that area within probably about 15 or 20 minutes," Commander Jeff Breslau, spokesman for the US 5th Fleet, told the BBC.

"We provided a US Coastguard cutter, along with 16 divers, one helicopter in the air and another on standby in order to support whatever the Bahrainis needed for the effort," he said.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4862948.stm

inah lillah hi wa ina aliehi rajoioon

May Allah rest the souls of departed in peace and grant thier near ones with patience

May those survived recover speedily

A few parents from kids school died in this disaster - Bahrain is a small place and the expat community isnt that huge ( among Brits) - devastating is the only word that describes it.

As they say in Pakistan - when your time is up - its time to go - May ALLAH have mercy on the departed souls, Ameen.

Very sad. And as Miggy said, Bahrain is such a small place that such things get magnified.
May Allah have mercy on them

inallaha wa inna ilaihi rajiyoon

ina lilahi wa ina ilaihi rajioon

inallaha wa inna ilaihi rajiyoon

ina lilahi wa ina ilaihi rajioon

ina lilahi wa ina ilaihi rajioon

whats strange is that when someone just mentioned to me that theres been a big accident in bahrain it made myheart stop,what with my parents living there....but it just gave me a just a fraction of an idea of what those who have lost loved ones must be going through.Allah give them strength,hope,guidance,protection and forgiveness.

A teacher and her husband who work with my wife swam to safety ! The boat was packed with staff celebrating the structural completion of one of Bahrains tallest buildings - today, as I drove by to work, the site looks deserted and ghostly.

The dead include all levels of engineers and workers - very sad and shocking. This is a small community and no doubt we will be hearing other tragic stories in the days to come.

So who's fault was it ?

According to the boat owner, the Captain called him to say that the boat was overloaded but he was being forced to leave - now the captain was Indian and he probably felt it was more than his jobs worth to refuse - I cannot imagine this happening in the West.

Sad chain of events that led to this tragedy - within visual distance of the Coast guard station and parked US Warships - I guess when ALLAH wants it, there is NO force in the world that can stop HIS will being done.

May ALLAH have mercy on the souls of the departed - Muslims, Christians, Hindus - ALLAHS mercy on all families effected by this tragedy, Ameen.

May Allah bring the the ones guilty of this murder to justice

a few weeks ago egyptian ferry capsized due to similar reasons
all we need are stricter laws to be enforced and counselling the ppl because its better to be late rather than being sorry

MIG and Daoud, this tragedy has not affected either of you personally (as in relatives and close friends, etc.), right?

Alhamdolillah - my family and I are safe - its just the stories of orphans in my kids class that are very distressing - its tough to explain to a 9 yr old why his classmates father wont be coming back to pick him up tomorrow!

From ALLAH we have come - to ALLAH we return!

i heard that Bahrain has ceased sea travel all together
so for a island like Bahrain . it means cutting off your economy from the rest of the world

which will bring further crisis for them in future

I think you may be mistaken there ...

Bahrain never depended on sea for it transport needs - after the construction of the causeway which connects Bahrain with Saudi, Bahrain cannot really be called an island.

The only people effected by this are the Dhow or traditional boat owners - no tourist in their right mind will travel on them now - well atleast for a few months.

Thanks for asking TS. My family is fine Allhamdulillah although I'll need to check with them if people they know are

I asked my mum about it and she said that this Pakistani organization shes involved with were meant to have a dinner cruise on that very same boat about a month and a half ago but decided against it cause it didnt look safe. Quite freaky

a friend of my mother's here in Canada had some relatives on board that didn't make it.

very tragic indeed.

Sorry to hear

Todays paper has pictures from Namaze Janaza for 4 Pakistanis who were also onboard the boat.