Death toll hits 17 in Gulf boat tragedy

Jul 03, 2009 at 16:21

Rescue workers have recovered 11 bodies from sea after UAE-owned boat sank off Qatar coast in bad weather.

Rescue workers have recovered 11 bodies from a commercial vessel that sank off the coast of Qatar bringing to 17 the number of dead while 13 other people are still missing, a newspaper said on Friday.

The boat sank on Tuesday near the entrance to the Doha canal but the Interior Ministry said rescuers managed to save five of the 35 people on board, most of them south Asians.

Rescuers are continuing the hunt for the 13 missing, the Peninsula newspaper said, adding that the captain and chief engineer, both from Indonesia, were among those who survived the tragedy.

Media reports have said that most those who were on board the ill-fated vessel were from Nepal and India. One Bangladeshi is among those feared dead.

An investigation is under way to determine the cause of the accident.