Two children drown in separate incidents in Great Zab River

ERBIL — Two children drowned Friday in separate incidents in the Great Zab River in Erbil governorate, according to local authorities.

In the first case, a 14-year-old boy from Bekhma village in Harir district drowned while trying to cross the river. A source from Qandil civil defense told 964media the boy “drowned while trying to cross, and before civil defense teams arrived, villagers from Bekhma retrieved his body from the water.”

Mohammed Amokayi, spokesperson for Shaqlawa health directorate, confirmed the case and said the body was transferred to Akre forensic medicine. He added the victim was not taken to Harir Hospital because Bajil subdistrict and Akre district were closer.

Later the same day, Soran civil defense reported that a 9-year-old child from Shanig village in Mergasor district also drowned in the Great Zab. Ravand Hawdiyani, spokesperson for Soran civil defense, told 964media the child was from the Ble area and that “civil defense teams from Mergasor and Soran went to the site of the incident and are continuing to search for the body.”