Saudi coast guard rescues 22
2006-02-04 19:14
Duba - Saudi coast guards have rescued 22 of the passengers of the Egyptian ferry that sank in the Red Sea on Friday.
The head of Duba port - from where the boat sailed on Thursday - Captain Mahmud al-Harbi, said 20 Egyptians and two Saudis were rescued 18 nautical miles (33 kilometres) beyond Saudi territorial waters on Saturday.
The survivors were transported to King Khaled hospital in Tabuk, northern Saudi Arabia.
Egyptian authorities have given provisional rescue figures as 354 - out of the estimated 1 400 on board the ferry.
Harbi said 12 Saudi citizens were rescued on the Egyptian side.
Saudi Brigadier General Badri al-Jabri, head of the coastal guard at Duba, said the Saudi teams had not found any bodies.
Saudi authorities have set up a crisis management unit at Duba.
A ship, two frigates, rescue boats, a Boeing C130 and five helicopters have been dispatched for the rescue effort.
Harbi said the Al-Salam Boccaccio 98 had undergone a seaworthiness check before sailing from Duba to the Egyptian port of Safaga: "We do not know the reason for the accident but the ferry had fulfilled safety requirements before leaving."