An Egyptian ferry with about 1Â 400 people on board has disappeared from radar screens in the Red Sea off the Saudi coast, Egyptian maritime officials said on Friday.
Helicopters have spotted bodies floating on the sea and one lifeboat carrying three people in the vicinity of where the ship, the Al-Salam 98, was last seen on radar screens, the maritime officials said.
Maritime sources said at least 1Â 310 Egyptians were on board, as well as around 100 people from other countries, including Sudanese and Saudi nationals.
Saudi and Egyptian naval vessels and helicopters are searching for the ship, which disappeared from radar screens shortly after sailing from the western Saudi port of Dubah at 7pm local time on Thursday night, the maritime officials in Suez said, speaking on condition of anonymity as they were not authorised to speak to the press.
The ship was due to have arrived at Egypt’s southern port of Safaga at 3am local time, but did not, the officials added.
”We lost all contact with the ship shortly after it left the Saudi port,” said one maritime official at Suez. Its last position on the radar screens was about 99km from Dubah.
An Egyptian helicopter spotted a lifeboat carrying three people, an official said. He added the search was being hampered by bad weather.
The ship is owned by the Egyptian company El-Salaam Maritime Transport, the official added. Some of the passengers are believed to be pilgrims returning from the annual hajj to Mecca, which ended last month.
Mamdouh Ismail, the company’s owner, said the ship is more than 25 years old and registered in Panama. He refused to make any further comment.
A ship owned by the same company, also carrying pilgrims, collided with a cargo ship at the southern entrance to the Suez Canal in October, causing a stampede among passengers trying to escape the sinking ship. Two people were killed and 40 injured. — Sapa-AP, AFP