Additional information added (first version posted at 11:13)
Azerbaijan, Baku, Jan. 22 /Trend, D. Khatinoglu/
16 people from 17 missing after a Iranian boat sinking in Persian Gulf are dead, Fars News reported. There is no information about last missing passenger yet.
A passenger boat has sank in the Persian Gulf off Iran's southern coast and at least 17 people are still missing.
Officials said the boat was carrying about 20 passengers and two crew member from Hormuz Island to Bandar Abbas on Saturday when it sank near the southern Iranian port city after it ran out of fuel.
Nearly seven hours after the sinking of the passenger boat, a member of the Bandar Abbas Fire Department rescue team told IRNA that five people had been rescued.
The rescue mission for the other passengers is still ongoing, he said.
Local port officials said the boat's voyage was illegal because the pier on Hormuz Island was closed due to poor sea conditions.
Iran's Hormuz Island is located 18 kilometers south of the mainland port city of Bandar Abbas.