(AFP) - Twenty people, including children, drowned when a boat sank during a river crossing in Afghanistan's eastern Nangarhar province on Saturday, according to a provincial official.
Quraishi Badloon, the head of the province’s information department, stated on social media platform X, “A boat with women and children on board sank at 7 a.m. on Saturday in the river in the Basawul area of Momand Dara district.”
He reported that five people survived the accident, the cause of which is being investigated.
The Nangarhar Information and Culture Department announced that authorities had dispatched a medical team and ambulances to the area.
Provincial government officials confirmed that at least five bodies had been recovered, and efforts are ongoing to find the others.
Local media reported that residents in the area often use boats in poor condition to cross the river, as there is no nearby bridge.