Friday 23 September 2016

Death toll in Egypt’s migrant boat tragedy climbs to 148


The death toll in the sinking of a migrant boat off the coast of Egypt this week has risen to 148.

Wahdan el-Sayed, spokesman for the Delta province, said in Cairo that rescuers on Friday recovered more than 90 bodies, bringing the number of dead so far to 148.

He said that the search operations are still underway off Beheira’s town of Rosetta where the boat capsized on Wednesday.

Mr. el-Sayed said that reports had given conflicting figures on the exact number of people on board the boat.

“State-run newspaper al-Ahram gave an estimate of 400, while private newspaper al-Shorouk said the vessel was carrying at least 300 people.

“Egypt’s state Radio reported that 163 people have been rescued,’’ he said.

The spokesman confirmed that among those on board were people from Egypt, Syria, Sudan, Somalia and Eritrea.

Source: Premium Times

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