KHARTOUM — At least 23 women who work in agriculture have died when their boat capsized on the Nile in central Sudan, the Sudanese Red Crescent has confirmed on Monday.

There were 29 people on board the vessel when it capsized and sank on Friday in southeastern Sennar province, according to the state-run SUNA news agency.

All of the passengers were women except for the captain, who survived, along with five passengers.

The ship capsized off the coast Tarirah al Marfaa town, in Sennar province.

The Sudanese Red Crescent has so far managed to recover eleven of the 23 bodies, in cooperation with the civil defense and the local community.

The Sudan Civil Defense continued to make repeated calls to citizens not to approach or swim in the Nile given the latest incidents that occurred as a result of the recent rise in waters in recent days.

Sudanese authorities reported Monday the sinking of a boat last week on the Blue Nile and said at least 23 women are believed to have drowned.

The Blue Nile is an important transport route for people and goods in the African nation. It joins with the White Nile just north of the capital of Khartoum to form the Nile River, one of the world’s longest rivers.

Accidents on overloaded boats are not uncommon on waterways in the African nation, where safety measures are often disregarded.

At least 22 people — 21 students and a woman — drowned in 2018, when a boat sank in the Nile in Sudan.

The boat’s engine failed in a high current while it was crossing the Nile to a school in Kabna, a small village in northern Sudan. — Agencies