Bahrain boat tragedy claims 6 South Africans

2006-03-31 07:26

Johannesburg - Six South Africans are reported to have been among those who died when a leisure boat sank off the coast of Bahrain, a foreign affairs official said on Friday.

Initial reports indicated that 13 South African were among the 150 passengers on board, foreign affairs spokesperson Ronnie Mamoepa said.

"Unfortunately, six are reported to have drowned when the boat sank last night (Thursday)," he said. "The other seven are reported to be safe. We are in the process of verifying those figures."

Mamoepa said once this had been completed the next-of-kin of those who died would be informed.

The French news agency AFP said at least 48 people died when the ferry capsized around 20:30, South African time.

United States Navy divers and coast guard members worked frantically to rescue survivors.

150 people invited

"The number of survivors is 63, of which 12 were wounded, and the number of bodies that we have pulled out so far is 48," Colonel Yussef al-Ghatim told reporters by 06:00, South African time.

"The organiser of the trip said 150 people were invited but some 14 to 20 may have got off before it sailed."

Ghatim said most of those on board were Asians and Europeans, along with some Arab nationals, who worked for a private Bahraini company that had chartered the traditional boat known locally as a Banoosh for an evening dinner and cruise off the coast of the tiny Gulf island kingdom.

Bahrain's Information Minister Mohammed Abdul Ghaffar ruled out terror as a reason for the disaster.

"There must have been technical reasons that caused the accident. We met some of the survivors and they spoke about their surprise about the boat's capsize," he said on state television.

The accident happened about a kilometre south of the Sheikh Khalifa bin Salman bridge, which links the capital Manama with the smaller Al-Muharraq island.

Ambulances rushed to the coastal guard base at Muharraq and speed boats were combing the sea looking to rescue passengers.

Bodies wrapped in white sheets were transported on stretchers off the rescue boats.

Mamoepa said Foreign Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma extended condolences on behalf of the South African government to all those affected by the tragedy.

US Navy divers were sent to the scene to assist in the search and rescue of survivors, a navy official said.

The navy was using helicopters and small boats to get to the site, he added.

- SAPA