ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – Iraqi emergency teams in the southern Muthanna province have recovered the bodies of several victims in the Tigris River during a search operation for a young man who drowned in the river two weeks ago. 

Emergency and civil defense teams, as well as volunteers, have spent the last two weeks searching for Hussein Bassim, a young man who drowned in the Tigris River in Samawah.

While the efforts to find Bassim have yet to bear fruit, witnesses told The New Region that during the last two weeks, emergency teams have recovered the bodies of at least five other individuals who have drowned in the river. 

Drowning incidents are not a rare occurrence in Iraq. The country's scorching summers frequently drive many to swim in its bodies of water to escape high temperatures, particularly in the south.

The New Region's correspondent at the scene reported on Monday that the teams found the body of a woman late Sunday as efforts continue to recover Bassim.

Drowning accounts for 0.45 percent of total deaths in Iraq, according to a World Life Expectancy report, citing World Health Organization (WHO) numbers, which put death by drowning in Iraq at over 650 in 2020 alone.