Nile Ferry Capsizes, Killing 17 Girls

A ferry carrying girls home from working on farms in central Sudan capsized in the Nile River and 17 drowned, a newspaper reported Thursday.

The girls were 10 to 17 years old, said the paper, Al-Sudan Al-Hadith. One girl on board survived, it said.

The cause of the sinking on Tuesday is not known, but boats on the Nile are not regulated and take few safety precautions.