An Iraqi court has issued a warrant for the arrest on corruption charges of the former governor of Nineveh province after a deadly ferry sinking in Mosul.

Parliament voted on Sunday to sack Nawfal al-Akoub as a consequence of last week’s accident in the River Tigris that killed almost 100 people.

On Wednesday, Nineveh’s investigations court said he and several other officials were suspected of misusing their powers and wasting public money.

Mr Akoub has so far not commented.

The ferry accident sparked protests by Mosul residents, who blamed negligence by the local authorities and demanded those responsible be held to account.

Image copyrightREUTERS

Image caption

The ferry was on its way to this tourist island upstream from the city centre

The ferry was transporting families to a tourist area on Umm Rabaen island in the Tigris on Thursday when it started to take on water and then overturned.

Those on board were thrown into the river, which was swollen by heavy rainfall, and then dragged swiftly downstream by the strong current.

The head of Mosul’s Civil Defence Authority said the ferry was loaded to five times its capacity and most of the dead were women and children who could not swim.

Mr Akoub visited the scene of the tragedy on Friday to commiserate with the victims’ relatives.

But when people gathered there saw his car, they shouted “thief, thief, thief”, a video of the incident showed.

Mr Akoub gestured to his chauffeur to drive off, which prompted people to start throwing rocks at the car. The vehicle hit several people while attempting to leave, injuring at least one of the victims’ relatives.