Ferry disaster: Focus on lifeboats and safety
Rescue boats and helicopters have converged in the choppy waters of the Red Sea, searching for survivors of an ageing ferry that sank with more than 1,400 people on board, mainly Egyptian workers returning from Saudi Arabia. Most were feared lost but officials said at least 324 made it to safety.
Transportation Minister Mohammed Lutfy Mansour told reporters early today that a “small fire” broke out on the ferry before it sank, and said investigators were still working to determine its connection to the sinking. He said there was no explosion on the vessel.
