CAIRO: Egyptian rescue workers ended a search on Saturday for people who were thought missing after two passenger ferries collided the night before on the Nile River, police said.
Police now say that initial estimates of about 20 missing passengers were wrong and that no-one died in the accident late on Friday near the northern city of Rosetta.
Nineteen people were rescued. The search operation continued overnight after passengers and witnesses said between 50 and 100 people were on board the ferries.
Police said their search and rescue operation was based on accounts from survivors and witnesses.
Right after the incident, Ahmed Zaki Abdeen, governor of Kafr El-Sheikh, told Egyptian state TV, “Six people are injured, 13 have escaped unharmed, and we are still looking for the rest.
We think there are about 20 people missing, he said. So far no dead bodies have been recovered.
On Saturday, Police said no bodies had been retrieved and that no missing persons reports had been issued by the public in the wake of the collision. The governor also affirmed the announcement in a press conference.
The cause of the accident which took place at around 5:30 pm was still unclear, police said.
Abdeen told Egyptian television that the boat with the passengers had sunk after being struck from the rear.
Press reports blamed the young captains of the ferries, saying irresponsible behavior and led to the collision.
Investigators were still looking into the cause of the latest incident in a country where transport accidents are highly frequent due to poor maintenance and negligence. -AFP
