Boat Sinking Kills 16 in Albania
Pastor Dale Morgan
Boat Sinking Kills 16 in Albania*
TIRANA, Albania - A boat carrying partygoers celebrating the birthday of
5-year-old twins sank overnight in a lake near the capital, killing 16
people, including the two children, police said Thursday.
The boat belonged to a restaurant on the shores of Lake Farka, about
three miles east of the capital, Tirana. It had a capacity of seven, but
was transporting 20 people from the restaurant when it sank shortly
after midnight, Tirana police spokeswoman Alma Katragjini said.
Authorities believe the boat capsized because it was overloaded.
Four people survived, Katragjini said. Three hours after the sinking,
authorities had collected 16 bodies from the lake: seven men, seven
women and the 5-year-old twin boys, she said.
Fourteen of the dead belonged to two families, while two of the bodies
could not immediately be identified, but were believed to be those of
family friends, Katragjini said.
Outside the Tirana morgue, men wept and held each other as relatives and
friends gathered to claim the bodies.
Lakeside and seaside restaurants are popular in Albania, but most are
within easy reach of roads. The one on Lake Farka was more remote, and a
small boat was often used to ferry passengers to it.