With the recovery of 15 more bodies from a sunken ferry in Egypt’s Nile river, the overall death toll in the tragedy has risen to 33 even as the search operation continued on the third day, officials said.Following the collision between the ferry and a cargo boat late on Wednesday night, the passenger boat sustained damage, causing it to sink in the river.
Fifteen more bodies have been recovered, taking the overall death toll to 33, the Ministry of Health said in a statement on Friday. A provincial prosecutor said that 35 passengers were estimated to have been on board a chartered boat when it collided with a cargo ship near Al-Warraq district in Giza, causing it to capsize. The interior ministry said six of the passengers had been rescued.
Locals angered by the deaths and families of those still missing blocked off a main road in the area where the boat sank and chanted anti-government slogans.
The skipper of the cargo ship has been arrested and ordered to be detained pending inquiry into the incident.
Boat accidents are not uncommon on the Nile or off Egypt’s coast. They are often blamed on rickety crafts or loose enforcement of the law.
Last year, six people including a child were killed when their chartered boat collided with a bridge structure near downtown Cairo.
The country’s deadliest boat accident occurred in February 2006 when a ferry sank in the Red Sea, killing more than 1,000 people.
PTI