Five Sudan footballers drown as boat capsizes in latest Nile tragedy

Five Sudanese footballers drowned in the Nile River on Monday after their boat sank in northern Sudan, according to state-media.

The Al-Malaha club players were travelling by boat from the city of Shendi, in the northern River Nile state, to El-Metamm, where they were due to play Al-Jarif club, when their boat capsized, according to the SUNA news agency.

Rescue teams are reportedly still searching for bodies.

#السودان | استشهاد 5 لاعبين غرقا في شندي

فاجعة كبرى شهدتها منطقة البسابير جنوب شندي إثر غرق قارب يقل بعثة فريق الملاحة البسابير المتوجه إلى مدينة المتمة لأداء مباراة مع فريق الجريف المتمة، البعثة قوامها 25 فردا غرق منهم 5 لاعبين, لم يتم انتشال جثامينهم حتى الآن.#السودان_الرياضي pic.twitter.com/cwBVjOZsSY

— SDN SPORT - السودان الرياضي (@SDN_SPORT) March 1, 2022

Drownings are not uncommon in the Nile River in Sudan, with people using boats often deemed unsafe.

More than 20 schoolchildren died in 2018 and at least 100 people died in 2019 after they drowned in the river, which reached unprecedented levels of high currents in 2020.

The floods saw large parts of Sudan submerged in water and displaced over a million people.