A restaurant boat packed with guests sunk in the Tigris River in the Iraqi capital on Thursday night leaving at least eight people dead, AP reported on Friday.
According to officials, speaking to the news agency, the accident occured because the boat was over its capacity. Several other guests are still missing.
Iraqi police said the boat, part of a Lebanese restaurant establishment, showed signs of decay before it took off into the river. However, there is little, if any, safety regulations in Iraq and corruption is rife.
Divers from the search and rescue team pulled the eight bodies out of the river, leaving another nine guests missing. 30 others were successfully rescued from the vessel.
