Five cleared of blame for 1,000 ferry deaths

SCUFFLES erupted at an Egyptian court yesterday when five of six defendants were cleared of blame for a 2006 ferry sinking in which more than 1,000 people died, Egypt’s worst maritime disaster.

Hysterical relatives voiced anger as only Salaheddin Gomaa, captain of another ferry, the Saint Catherine, was jailed for six months for failing to come to the assistance of the Al-Salam Boccaccio 98, a judicial source said.

Public prosecutor Abdel Meguid Mahmud issued a statement saying he would appeal the ruling and called for a retrial.