By Bahram Abdel Moneim

KHARTOUM 

At least 23 people, mostly students, drowned on Wednesday when their boat sank in central Sudan, according to the official SUNA news agency.

The accident occurred when the boat’s engine broke down as result of heavy rains and winds in Beheir district in the Nile River state, the agency said.

Civil defense forces were still searching the water for the bodies of the victims.

Earlier Wednesday, Sudanese authorities ordered the closure of schools across the capital Khartoum amid heavy torrential rains and winds that have destroyed hundreds of homes in some Sudanese provinces, including North Darfur and North Kordofan.

According to local media, at least 39 people have been killed due to heavy rains since last week, including ten in Khartoum.