30 bodies recovered from sinking ferry in northern Iraq

BAGHDAD, March 21 (Xinhua) -- At least 30 bodies were recovered and 12 others rescued Thursday after a ferry sank in Tigris River in northern city of Mosul, the Iraqi Health Ministry and police said.

"The civil defense teams so far recovered 30 bodies of victims of sinking ferry in the Tigris River in the city of Mosul, some 400 km north of Baghdad," Sayf al-Badr, spokesman of the ministry, said in a statement.

Al-Badr said the civil defense teams also rescued 12 people, noting that most of the victims were women and children.