Officials in Bahrain say at least 57 people have drowned and 13 are missing after a party cruise ship capsized off the coast of the Persian Gulf state.
The passengers were on a dinner cruise, celebrating a construction project in the capital, Manama. Officials say 67 people have been rescued, including the ship's captain who is being questioned.
The ship, with 137 passengers, most of them foreigners, went down less than one-and-a-half kilometers from the coast late Thursday. Survivors say the wooden boat had been listing to one side before it flipped over.
The boat's owners say it may have been overloaded. A company representative told state television the ship was licensed to carry only 100 passengers.
An Interior Ministry spokesman Colonel Tarik al-Hassan) says those onboard came from 16 different countries.
U.S. helicopters and divers from the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet helped Bahrain's rescue and recovery efforts.
The passengers were on a dinner cruise, celebrating a construction project in the capital, Manama. Officials say 67 people have been rescued, including the ship's captain who is being questioned.
The ship, with 137 passengers, most of them foreigners, went down less than one-and-a-half kilometers from the coast late Thursday. Survivors say the wooden boat had been listing to one side before it flipped over.
The boat's owners say it may have been overloaded. A company representative told state television the ship was licensed to carry only 100 passengers.
An Interior Ministry spokesman Colonel Tarik al-Hassan) says those onboard came from 16 different countries.
U.S. helicopters and divers from the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet helped Bahrain's rescue and recovery efforts.