bad_meetz_evil
03-31-2006, 11:14 AM
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (CNN) -- At least 57 passengers died after a cruise boat carrying about 150 people on a company outing capsized and sank Thursday night in a narrow channel off the Bahrain coast, officials said.
The Nass Group had chartered the two-level boat for a dinner cruise to celebrate the end of one of the consortium's construction projects.
The island kingdom's Interior Ministry said 67 passengers had been rescued, at least 12 of whom were injured.
Sheikh Rashid bin Abdulla Al Khalifa, the kingdom's interior minster, said most of the passengers worked for the local company. He said there was no indication of terrorism.
Among the dead were citizens of Bahrain, Philippines, South Africa, Singapore, Thailand, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, the United States, Nepal, Pakistan, Germany, Poland, Ireland, Great Britain, India and Egypt. Thirteen of the dead were believed to be British citizens.
Tariq Hassan, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry, said an investigation will be conducted into the sinking, which occurred about 9:30 p.m. (4:30 p.m. ET).
Officials are trying to determine what caused the ship to sink in clear weather less than a mile off the Bahraini coast, near the capital Manama.
Witnesses said the boat sank on its way back into port, according to the British Foreign Office. (Watch rescue efforts in Bahrain -- 1:26)
Twelve of those rescued were injured and taken to a Bahraini hospital, according to the Interior Ministry.
Information Minister Muhammad Abdul Ghaffar said it was his understanding that the passengers worked for the Nass Group and were on an evening dinner cruise scheduled to last a couple of hours. He added that the company was based in Bahrain.
"We hope we can find more survivors," Ghaffar said. (Watch how U.S. and Bahraini officials are scrambling to figure out what happened -- 2:50)
Al Khudsay Travel and Tourism is the tour boat operator.
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, during a visit to Blackburn, England, said Friday that the United States was "lending whatever assistance we can."
UK Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, appearing with Rice, said the UK had sent a rapid deployment unit to the region.
A man who didn't want to be identified said he was on the boat's observation deck before it left the Marina Club port, and was concerned because it felt top-heavy. The man did not join the cruise.
He said a friend of his, who was a bartender on the boat, was able to swim ashore. He quoted his friend as saying a swell or wake lifted the boat, sending kitchen equipment to one side of the vessel, before it capsized.
The U.S. Navy sent boats, a Coast Guard cutter, 16 divers and two helicopters to assist in the rescue, Navy officials said. The island kingdom houses the headquarters of the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet, which patrols the Persian Gulf.
Thursday's sinking comes fewer than two months after an Egyptian ferry -- the Al Salam Boccaccio 98 -- sank in rough Red Sea waters in early February. An estimated 1,000 passengers were feared dead.
The Nass Group had chartered the two-level boat for a dinner cruise to celebrate the end of one of the consortium's construction projects.
The island kingdom's Interior Ministry said 67 passengers had been rescued, at least 12 of whom were injured.
Sheikh Rashid bin Abdulla Al Khalifa, the kingdom's interior minster, said most of the passengers worked for the local company. He said there was no indication of terrorism.
Among the dead were citizens of Bahrain, Philippines, South Africa, Singapore, Thailand, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, the United States, Nepal, Pakistan, Germany, Poland, Ireland, Great Britain, India and Egypt. Thirteen of the dead were believed to be British citizens.
Tariq Hassan, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry, said an investigation will be conducted into the sinking, which occurred about 9:30 p.m. (4:30 p.m. ET).
Officials are trying to determine what caused the ship to sink in clear weather less than a mile off the Bahraini coast, near the capital Manama.
Witnesses said the boat sank on its way back into port, according to the British Foreign Office. (Watch rescue efforts in Bahrain -- 1:26)
Twelve of those rescued were injured and taken to a Bahraini hospital, according to the Interior Ministry.
Information Minister Muhammad Abdul Ghaffar said it was his understanding that the passengers worked for the Nass Group and were on an evening dinner cruise scheduled to last a couple of hours. He added that the company was based in Bahrain.
"We hope we can find more survivors," Ghaffar said. (Watch how U.S. and Bahraini officials are scrambling to figure out what happened -- 2:50)
Al Khudsay Travel and Tourism is the tour boat operator.
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, during a visit to Blackburn, England, said Friday that the United States was "lending whatever assistance we can."
UK Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, appearing with Rice, said the UK had sent a rapid deployment unit to the region.
A man who didn't want to be identified said he was on the boat's observation deck before it left the Marina Club port, and was concerned because it felt top-heavy. The man did not join the cruise.
He said a friend of his, who was a bartender on the boat, was able to swim ashore. He quoted his friend as saying a swell or wake lifted the boat, sending kitchen equipment to one side of the vessel, before it capsized.
The U.S. Navy sent boats, a Coast Guard cutter, 16 divers and two helicopters to assist in the rescue, Navy officials said. The island kingdom houses the headquarters of the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet, which patrols the Persian Gulf.
Thursday's sinking comes fewer than two months after an Egyptian ferry -- the Al Salam Boccaccio 98 -- sank in rough Red Sea waters in early February. An estimated 1,000 passengers were feared dead.