Seventeen reported dead after boat capsizes off Iran

Seventeen people have died after a storm capsized a passenger boat off Iran’s southern coast, the country’s official news agency is reporting.

The report by IRNA said the boat sank yesterday evening while sailing between Hormuz Island and port city of Bandar Abbas on the mainland. Rescue teams saved five passengers, the report said.

It said the boat began its 11-mile journey despite a travel ban on light boats by shipping authorities, due to a storm with winds of 50mph.

Every day dozens of passenger boats travel between Bandar Abbas and nearby islands near the strategic Strait of Hormuz 1,300 miles south of the capital Tehran.