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Post by ferryfast admin on Feb 6, 2006 0:24:53 GMT -5
Car deck flooding sank ferry: Officer
Web posted at: 2/6/2006 2:24:41 Source ::: Reuters www.reuters.com/
SAFAGA, Egypt: An officer from the Egyptian ferry said the car deck had flooded as crew battled a fire.
Rani Kamal, third officer on the ship, told Al Arabiya from a Saudi hospital that the car deck had flooded during the firefighting operation, making the ship list. Government officials said earlier the blaze began in a vehicle.
“The ferry sank due to firefighting operations. Water flooded the garage (car deck), which is where the fire started, and it pooled on one side,” he said. “Then the water increased and increased until the ship listed sharply. It listed five, then 10 degrees and then 15 and then 25 degrees and that was the beginning of the end,” added Kamal, who was rescued from a dinghy by Saudi coastguards.
He did not explain further. Passengers have also reported both a fire below decks and serious listing. The captain of the ship, Sayed Omar, is unaccounted for. The second officer, who has been rescued, has spoken to the authorities but not to the media.
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