Egyptian authorities admitted last night that a ferry that sank in the Red Sea with more than 1,400 people on board was unsafe and did not have enough lifeboats. More than 1,100 were feared dead.
The Al Salam Boccaccio 98, a 35-year old vessel driven out of European waters by stringent safety regulations, went down suddenly early yesterday morning local time, 57 miles from its destination at the Egyptian port of Safaga. Coast Guard ships pulled about 185 bodies from the sea, and at least 263 survivors escaped on lifeboats.
“The speed at which the ship sank and the fact that there were not enough liferafts on board confirm that there was a (safety) problem but we cannot anticipate the results of the investigation,” President Mubarak’s spokesman said.
