A passenger ferry, carrying about 170 people, many of them foreigners, sank in the Gulf off the coast of Bahrain on Thursday and so far 47 bodies have been recovered.(Photo: AFP)

    CAIRO, March 30 (Xinhua) -- A passenger ferry, carrying about 170 people, many of them foreigners, sank in the Gulf off the coast of Bahrain on Thursday and so far 47 bodies have been recovered.

    The al-Arabiya TV channel reported that between 70 to 90 people had been rescued so far, some sustaining injuries. A senior Bahraini official told al-Arabiya via phone that many of the injured, who had been rushed to hospital for medical treatment, were Asians.

    The official said that the passengers on board were from one Bahraini company, whose employees were from Asia, Europe and Bahrain.

    The satellite channel also said that the passenger ferry was carrying about 170 people when the incident occurred in the Gulf waters about 1 mile (1.6 km) off the Bahrain coast.

    The official Bahrain News Agency (BNA) reported that about 60 people were rescued alive from the sunken ship. Meanwhile, other reports said that the ferry carried about 150 tourists on a short tour in the Gulf and that many of them were believed to be Westerners.

    A number of others were still missing and the hospitals in Bahrain were on high alert and had been receiving casualties. The exact number of foreigners on board and their nationalities were not immediately known.

    Meanwhile, BNA reported on its website that the coast guards received information on the incident around 9:45 p.m. (1845 GMT) and immediately carried out rescue work.

    The U.S. Navy Fifth Fleet, which is based in Bahrain, also dispatched divers and helicopters to help in the rescue operation.

    The cause of the incident was not immediately clear, but Bahraini officials suspected of technical problems, arguing that the weather condition was fine when the incident occurred.

    Rescue work is believed to be difficult since it has already passed midnight in Bahrain with thick darkness on the sea. Bahraini Interior Ministry is expected to hold a news conference soon over the incident. Enditem