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Sudan troops drown in Nile crash Sudan troops drown in Nile crash
(about 8 hours later)
At least 24 soldiers have drowned in southern Sudan and 51 more are missing after a military steam boat sank on the River Nile. At least 77 soldiers have drowned in southern Sudan after a military steam boat sank on the River Nile.
Their vessel collided with a passenger ferry, a spokesman for the Sudan People's Liberation Army said. The soldiers, belonging to the former rebels the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA), died after their vessel collided with a passenger ferry.
A rescue team from the United Nations is now at the scene. Minutes later two rescue boats ran into each other killing another soldier.
A BBC correspondent says that after 21 years of civil war, water transport in southern Sudan is unregulated and most boats lack safety equipment. After 21 years of civil war, water transportation in southern Sudan remains unregulated, says the BBC's Jonah Fisher in Khartoum.
The BBC's Jonah Fisher in Khartoum says the boat sank near the village of Malut, in Upper Nile State, part of Sudan so ravaged by war that the river is often the only way of getting around. Most boats lack safety equipment, says our correspondent.
Thirty-four soldiers are known to have survived. The military steam boat had no maps or lights or maps, said Lt Col Stephen Chan Along.
A riverborne unit of Bangladeshi UN peacekeepers is at the scene, assisting in the recovery of bodies. It was travelling on the wrong channel of the river Nile at 2000 (1700 GMT) when the accident occurred near the village of Melut, in Upper Nile State, he said.
The soldiers are from the SPLA former rebels, who now run southern Sudan after last year's peace deal. The area is part of Sudan so ravaged by war that the river is often the only way of getting around, says our correspondent.
Eyewitnesses said the bodies were lined up along the banks of the Nile.
The SPLA now runs southern Sudan after last year's peace deal.