Post by ferryfast admin on Feb 3, 2006 11:53:32 GMT -5
Passenger Ship Sinks in Red Sea
By Daniel Williams and Fred Barbash
Washington Post Staff Writers
www.washingtonpost.com/
Friday, February 3, 2006; 10:42 AM
LUXOR, Egypt, Feb. 3 -- A cruise ferry carrying 1,300 to 1,400 people sank in the Red Sea about 40 miles from the Egyptian port of Hurghada, the country's transport minister said Friday. Early sketchy reports said there could be 100 or more survivors in lifeboats.
Mohammed Loutfy Mansour, speaking on CNN and other news outlets, said some lifeboats had been spotted by helicopters in the area. He said naval and coast guard ships were rushing to the scene.
The BBC quoted Egyptian officials saying that 14 bodies and 12 survivors had been pulled from the sea. That report could not be independently confirmed. Egypt's maritime authority, quoted by the Associated Press, said about 100 survivors in five lifeboats had been rescued.
Mahfouz Taha Marzouk, head of the Egyptian Maritime Authority, told the AP that the ship was the "al-Salam Boccaccio 98."
That ship has a capacity of about 1,487 people, according to official registries. There were conflicting estimates of the number aboard the ship, but officials said it was carrying 1,310 passengers and about 96 or 100 crew.
He said authorities did not know why the ship sank, though there were reports of difficult weather in the area.
"The coast guard is doing everything in its power to try to rescue these people," Mansour said.
Britain also diverted one of its warships to the scene.
The ship disappeared from radar screens shortly after sailing from the western Saudi port of Dubah at 7 p.m. local time Thursday, maritime officials in Suez told wire services.
The ship was due at Egypt's port of Safaga at 3 a.m. local time, the officials added. Dubah and Safaga lie across from each other at the northern end of the Red Sea.
The ship is owned by the Egyptian firm El-Salaam Maritime Transport Co.
Some of the passengers are believed to be pilgrims returning from the annual hajj to Mecca, which ended last month.
Mamdouh Ismail, the company's owner, told the AP that the ship is more than 25 years old and registered in Panama.
The Egyptian news agency MENA gave the following breakdown in the nationality of those who were scheduled to be aboard the ship: Egyptians, 1,158; Saudis, 99; Syrians, six; Palestinians, four; and one each from the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Canada, Yemen and Sudan.
Ayman Alkaffas, head of the press and information office at the Egyptian embassy in London, told Reuters there were also close to 100 crew members aboard the ferry.
Fred Barbash reported from Washington.
By Daniel Williams and Fred Barbash
Washington Post Staff Writers
www.washingtonpost.com/
Friday, February 3, 2006; 10:42 AM
LUXOR, Egypt, Feb. 3 -- A cruise ferry carrying 1,300 to 1,400 people sank in the Red Sea about 40 miles from the Egyptian port of Hurghada, the country's transport minister said Friday. Early sketchy reports said there could be 100 or more survivors in lifeboats.
Mohammed Loutfy Mansour, speaking on CNN and other news outlets, said some lifeboats had been spotted by helicopters in the area. He said naval and coast guard ships were rushing to the scene.
The BBC quoted Egyptian officials saying that 14 bodies and 12 survivors had been pulled from the sea. That report could not be independently confirmed. Egypt's maritime authority, quoted by the Associated Press, said about 100 survivors in five lifeboats had been rescued.
Mahfouz Taha Marzouk, head of the Egyptian Maritime Authority, told the AP that the ship was the "al-Salam Boccaccio 98."
That ship has a capacity of about 1,487 people, according to official registries. There were conflicting estimates of the number aboard the ship, but officials said it was carrying 1,310 passengers and about 96 or 100 crew.
He said authorities did not know why the ship sank, though there were reports of difficult weather in the area.
"The coast guard is doing everything in its power to try to rescue these people," Mansour said.
Britain also diverted one of its warships to the scene.
The ship disappeared from radar screens shortly after sailing from the western Saudi port of Dubah at 7 p.m. local time Thursday, maritime officials in Suez told wire services.
The ship was due at Egypt's port of Safaga at 3 a.m. local time, the officials added. Dubah and Safaga lie across from each other at the northern end of the Red Sea.
The ship is owned by the Egyptian firm El-Salaam Maritime Transport Co.
Some of the passengers are believed to be pilgrims returning from the annual hajj to Mecca, which ended last month.
Mamdouh Ismail, the company's owner, told the AP that the ship is more than 25 years old and registered in Panama.
The Egyptian news agency MENA gave the following breakdown in the nationality of those who were scheduled to be aboard the ship: Egyptians, 1,158; Saudis, 99; Syrians, six; Palestinians, four; and one each from the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Canada, Yemen and Sudan.
Ayman Alkaffas, head of the press and information office at the Egyptian embassy in London, told Reuters there were also close to 100 crew members aboard the ferry.
Fred Barbash reported from Washington.