The accident, which struck as the overloaded vessel turned back, also coincided with Mother's Day in Iraq. "There were a lot of people on the boat, especially women and children," he told AFP. "The boat sank because there were too many passengers on board," another security official based in Mosul told AFP. Search operations stretched far downstream from the site where the boat sank, according to an AFP journalist. "It was carrying too many passengers, so the water began to rush onboard and the ferry became heavier and overturned," he said.

Source: Dhaka Tribune March 21, 2019 20:48 UTC