KABUL, June 14 (Xinhua) -- At least four people are missing and nine others have been rescued after a boat capsized in a river in northern Afghanistan's Badakhshan province, local authorities reported late Saturday.
The incident occurred on Friday in the remote Aweez area of Shahri Buzurg district, when a small, locally operated vessel carrying passengers from one bank to the other foundered under unclear circumstances, said Ehsanullah Kamgar, provincial police spokesman.
Rescue teams managed to pull nine survivors from the water, but search efforts continued for the four unaccounted individuals, Kamgar added.
In Badakhshan, a rugged and impoverished province bordering Tajikistan and China, many communities in isolated valleys rely on makeshift boats and river crossings for essential transport and the movement of goods. Such crossings often become perilous due to aging vessels, overloading, or rapidly changing water levels. ■
