Egypt ferry owner gets 10yrs

2010-07-31 14:10

Cairo - An Egyptian court Saturday sentenced a boat owner to 10 years in prison for causing the deaths of nine female students when his ferry sank in southern Cairo.

The owner took 19 people people aboard the ferry, the court found, while safety procedures mandated a maximum capacity of six.

The schoolgirls died when the boat sank near the southern Cairo suburb of Maadi earlier this month. Four other students were injured.

The man's brother was sentenced to six months in prison, but could pay $200 and be let out on parole.

The two men were arrested on charges of manslaughter and not having a licence to drive the boat as well as escaping without trying to rescue the victims.

Accidents are common in Egypt and poor infrastructure and weak enforcement of safety regulations are widely blamed for the incidents.

In February 2006, more than 1 000 people died when a ferry travelling between Egypt and Saudi Arabia caught fire in the Red Sea and sank off the coast near Safaga.

- SAPA