Cairo: At least 22 schoolchildren died on Wednesday north of the Sudanese capital Khartoum after their boat sank in the River Nile, Sudan’s state news agency Suna reported.
Forty children were aboard the boat when it developed a technical problem off the River Nile province, around 750 kilometres north of Khartoum, the agency added.
The children were on their way to school in the morning when the boat broke down as the river currents were rough, according to Suna. One woman also drowned in the accident.
Rescue teams started a search operation in the site of the tragedy. No bodies of the victims have been retrieved yet, the agency reported.
People living on the banks of the Nile in Sudan depend on boats for transportation.
