Bahrain ferry carrying 150 people capsizes

MANAMA, Bahrain -- A ferry carrying up to 150 people capsized Thursday night in the Persian Gulf off the coast of Bahrain, and at least 48 bodies were recovered, the country's coast guard chief said. American divers and a U.S. helicopter aided the rescue effort.\nCoast guard chief Youssef al-Katem said at least 63 people survived. A passenger on board the ferry calling from his cell phone was the first to alert officials that the ship was listing, he said.\nThe official Bahrain News Agency said the ferry -- the al-Dana -- was on an evening cruise that was to last several hours. It overturned less than a mile off the coast, it said. Television footage showed the ferry capsized but not sunk, with rescue workers walking on its brown hull.\nU.S. helicopters and divers joined the rescue operation launched by Bahrain's coast guard. Bahrain, a tiny island nation on the western side of the Persian Gulf, is home to the Navy's fifth Fleet.\nRescue teams brought bodies covered with white sheets to shore, and hospital workers hurried them to waiting ambulances. Scores of officials and relatives waited on the dock watching small rescue boats with flashing blue lights bring more bodies and survivors.\nThere was no indication of what caused the ferry to capsize in what appeared to be ideal weather conditions. The government dismissed terrorism as a cause, and the news agency quoted Interior Ministry spokesman Maj. Mohammed Ben Dayna as calling it an accident.\n"It's too early to say what caused the accident," Ben Dayna said.\nAl-Katem said an investigation was underway. The ferry's owners said overloading could have caused the ferry to capsize, according to Bahrain television.\nThe passengers were thought to be a mix of Bahrainis, nationals of other Gulf Arab nations and Westerners. Health Minister Nada Haffadh told al-Arabiya television that survivors who arrived at hospitals included nationals of India, South Africa, Singapore and Britain.\nInformation Minister Mohammed Abul-Ghafar, interviewed on al-Arabiya television, said the passengers included 25 Britons, 20 Filipinos, 10 South Africans and 10 Egyptians.