Two children died and 15 civilians were rescued after a river ferry carrying a number of civilians, including children and women, sank after it collided with the temporary pontoon bridge in the city of Deir Ezzor, at dawn on Sunday, which led to the fall of most of its passengers into the waters of the Euphrates River amid an atmosphere of panic and urgent appeals from the people to rescue the stranded.

In a statement published on its official channel on the "Telegram" application, the Syrian Civil Defense explained that its field teams immediately responded to the incident of the sinking of a wooden ferry carrying more than 35 civilians, after it suffered a sudden technical malfunction and was swept away by a strong water current, which led to the loss of control and its violent collision with the new military bridge, which resulted in the death of two children in an initial toll expected to rise.

Intensive searches in the Euphrates

The Civil Defense pointed out that its specialized teams, in cooperation and joint coordination with the residents and medical systems of the Ministries of Health and Defense, have been able to rescue 15 people so far and transfer them to receive treatment, while rescue operations and intensive search for the rest of the missing people continue at the site of the incident, with the use of drones equipped with thermal cameras to survey the river, in addition to water rescue teams that conduct dives in the riverbed, and land teams combing the banks for long distances.

The director of the National Hospital in Deir Ezzor, Dr. Obaida Abdel Razzaq, said that the bodies of two children and seven injured and suffocated people arrived at the hospital as a result of the sinking of the ferry, indicating that the medical teams provided the necessary immediate aid and that the condition of all the injured is currently stable and undergoing medical monitoring.

Government and civil society mobilize to face the repercussions of the tragedy

For its part, the Deir Ezzor Media Directorate confirmed that immediately after the tragic incident, all concerned authorities and local councils in the province were mobilized, as units of the Syrian Arab Army and civil defense teams, in cooperation with the emergency ambulance system and volunteers from the residents, began large-scale search and rescue operations in the Euphrates River to retrieve the citizens who were on board the ferry, provide first aid and secure temporary shelters for those who were rescued.

The people of Deir Ezzor are facing severe and accumulated difficulties in daily movement between the two banks of the Euphrates River, as a result of the damage to a large number of main bridges and the complete disconnection of some of them due to the previous events, which pushes the local population to rely on alternative river ferries in some areas to transport people and goods, despite the great risks of their use and the lack of adequate safety means, in conjunction with the continuation of the work of the concerned authorities to rehabilitate the bridges to ease the burden on the people and ensure their safe movement.

River ferries and temporary pontoon bridges represent the only remaining lifeline to connect the two banks of the Euphrates River in Deir Ezzor governorate after the destruction of basic infrastructure and the network of fixed and pivotal bridges over the past years. These tragic incidents are clearly recurring due to the lack of technical safety controls for alternative boats and the sudden rise in the level of the river currents, which increases the demands of the residents to accelerate the pace of the reconstruction of strategic bridges to end the danger of daily death boats.

Completion of the construction of a floating military bridge over the Euphrates

The Turkish Ministry of Defense officially announced yesterday the completion of the construction of a 240-meter-long pontoon bridge over the Euphrates River in Deir Ezzor province, in a step described as a strategic shift that reflects the level of military and logistical coordination between the Syrian and Turkish armies after the political change in Syria at the end of 2024 (the fall of the Assad regime).

In a post on the "X" platform, the ministry explained that the army's engineering brigade established the 240-meter-long pontoon bridge over the Euphrates River, considering that "the capabilities and capabilities of the Turkish Armed Forces are not only limited to security, but also provide solutions that facilitate daily life."

The ministry confirmed that once the inspection and audit procedures for the safety of the crossing are completed, the bridge will be officially opened to allow use by the people of the area by linking the two banks of the river and facilitating the movement of people and goods.

A source in Deir Ezzor province told "Syrian News" that the bridge is engineered to carry commercial trucks and heavy vehicles with a load of up to 70 tons and connects the coastal road of Al-Alis on the west bank (Shamiya) and the town of Hatla on the east bank (Al-Jazeera) in the countryside of Deir Ezzor.

The source explained that the bridge is currently undergoing a technical inspection period of 48 hours before entering full service for the movement of people and goods, pointing out that the bridge will be an emergency step to end months of daily suffering for the people in commuting until the completion of the rehabilitation works of the destroyed fixed bridges, especially the Al-Siyasi Bridge.