03/02/2006

Egyptian ferry tragedy in Red Sea

An Egyptian ferry has sunk in the Red Sea and it is feared that over a thousand people may have been killed.

The al-Salam Boccaccio '98 sank around 50 miles off the Egyptian coast in the early hours of Friday morning.

Communication with the roll-on/roll-off ferry was lost around 7pm local time (1600 GMT). According to reports, the ship did not issue a distress signal, although RAF Kinloss in the UK said that it did pick up a distant distress signal around midnight.

The cause of the accident is not known, but there have been reports of an electrical storm in the area.

It has been reported that around 100 survivors have been rescued so far, while around 20 bodies are believed to have been recovered from the sea.

However, the rescue effort is being hampered by bad weather.

The ship was carrying around 1,400 people, including the crew. Many of the passengers are believed to be Egyptians, some of whom were said to be pilgrims returning from the Hajj pilgrimage. There also reports that there were also Saudi, Sudanese and Syrian nationals on board.

Commenting on the disaster, Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said: "We understand there are 1,300 souls on board this ship which appears to have gone down with a very heavy loss of life.

"I understand most of those on board were Hajjis returning from their Hajj, which should be a time of great spirituality and relief and joy, turned to tragedy.

"Our hearts go out to all those who we think have suffered so badly in this tragedy."

(KMcA)

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