CAIRO: A floating restaurant carrying hundreds of singing and dancing wedding guests sank in the Nile south of Cairo, raising fears of casualties until officials Saturday confirmed that all the missing had been found.
Hundreds of people were attending the late-night wedding party Friday on the Princess Hidy restaurant boat when their combined weight caused it to list to the right, taking on water and prompting a panic in the river off Beni Sueif, a town some 200 kms south of Cairo, officials said.
Nobody died and there were only nine people injured, the provincial governor, Gen. Ahmed Zaki Abdine, told the official Middle East News Agency. They have all recovered and left the hospital.
The governor added that initial reports about the boat being a ferry and sinking in the middle of the river were incorrect since the craft was always anchored on the shore and just used for large dinners and parties.
Many of the passengers were rescued, but in the late night darkness and confusion, police initially feared dozens more were missing. Many passengers, it turned out, reached the shore on their own.
Nile boats are often used for weddings and other celebrations in Egypt, particularly in summer.
