According to the BBC, at least 24 children and a health worker have drowned after their boat sank on the Nile River in Sudan on Wednesday morning. SUNA, the Sudan News Agency, reported the children were crossing the river on their way to school when the boat’s engine failed in strong currents, causing it to sink. The boat was said to be carrying at least 40 students. Only two bodies have been found at this time. Ab el-Khayr Adam Yunis, the headmaster of Kenba High School, told the BBC’s Focus on Africa radio program that most of the victims were girls, stating, “One family lost five daughters, and another three families lost two children each, and two families lost three children each.” He said the children usually go to school on foot, but have been using a boat due to flooding after heavy rains.
