At least two children killed after ferry collides with bridge in Syria’s Euphrates River | VIDEO

At least two children were killed after a ferry collided with a bridge while crossing the ⁠Euphrates River ​in the eastern Syrian ​city of Deir al-Zor on Sunday (Jul 12), the Syrian Civil Defence said. The vessel was carrying more than 35 peocityple at the time of the incident. According to the rescue agency, more than 15 people have been rescued after all those on board fell into the river. The search and rescue operation is underway to locate the missing.

Videos shared on social media captured chaotic scenes along the riverbank as rescue personnel, joined by local residents, rushed to pull survivors from the water after the ferry crashed into the bridge.

In a statement, Syrian Civil Defence said that thermal drones were being used to locate passengers. “The operations of the Ministry of Emergency and Disaster Management teams continue in cooperation with the Ministry of Defense and local residents in searching for missing persons in the Euphrates River following the sinking of a ferry in the city of Deir ez-Zor,” it said.

It further added, “Thermal drones are used in the search operations, in addition to water rescue teams that conduct searches in the river waters and land rescue teams that comb the riverbanks.”

In another statement, the organization said, “Ongoing search operations for missing persons in the Euphrates River following the sinking of a ferry in the city of Deir ez-Zor, which was carrying civilians to cross between the two banks of the river after midnight last night, where it suffered a breakdown and was swept away by the current, leading to its collision with the new military bridge, and the initial toll so far is the death of two children and the survival of more than 15 civilians.”