ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - At least seven people drowned in the Tigris River in Iraq’s central Salahaddin province on Friday while attempting to rescue a child who had fallen into the water, local police said.
"A family traveling from Baghdad to Tikrit went to the banks of the Tigris River. After one of their children fell into the water, other family members attempted to save him, resulting in several of them drowning,” Salahaddin police spokesperson Qasim Ali told Rudaw.
According to Ali, 13 members of the same family entered the water. Seven drowned, while six others were rescued alive.
Ali said six bodies have so far been recovered and that search operations are ongoing for one person still missing. He added that the survivors are in good health.
Salahaddin Governor Haitham al-Zahwan ordered provincial police to directly oversee rescue operations following the incident and extended condolences to the victims’ families, according to a statement from the governorate.
Drowning incidents remain a recurring concern in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region.
In early May, five teenagers drowned while swimming in the Schwaycha Marsh in Iraq’s eastern Wasit province.
The Kurdistan Region’s Civil Defense in mid-May warned of a sharp rise in drowning incidents, saying over 20 people have drowned since the start of 2026 despite the summer season not yet having begun.
According to Civil Defense statistics, 21 people have drowned across different areas of the Kurdistan Region since the beginning of the year, compared to 63 cases recorded throughout all of 2025.
Every year, rising temperatures drive many residents to rivers, lakes, and dams across Iraq and the Kurdistan Region for recreation and swimming. Authorities, however, repeatedly warn that a lack of swimming skills, strong currents, and unfamiliarity with certain areas continue to claim lives during the warmer months.