Fifteen day laborers climbed aboard a ferry on the Nile, heading for a job at a local construction firm. At least 10 of them did not come back.
The boat sank just outside Cairo, in the town of Monshat el-Kanater in Giza, one of the three provinces that make up Greater Cairo. Authorities announced the toll on Monday. The five survivors were taken to a hospital and later discharged, Egypt’s Ministry of Manpower said in a statement. Officials did not immediately say what caused the sinking.
Recovering the dead took rescue teams hours. Local media aired live-stream videos on social media showing divers searching the water while villagers waited on the riverbank.
Compensation announced
The ministry set aside 200,000 Egyptian pounds (around $6,466) for the family of each person who died. Each of the five injured is to receive 20,000 pounds ($646).
A river people cross every day
Many Egyptians get around by boat daily, especially in Upper Egypt and the Nile Delta. Sailing the Nile is also a favorite holiday pastime in the most populous country in the Arab world.
Accidents on ferries, railways and roads are common in Egypt, mainly because of poor maintenance and weak regulation. In 2022, two people died and eight went missing when a small truck they were riding in slid off a ferry and into the Nile. In 2015, a passenger boat collided with a scow on the river and 35 people died.
Sources
- A ferry sinks in the Nile in Egypt, killing at least 10 people
- Ferry sinks in Egypt's Nile River, 10 people dead
Sources
- A ferry sinks in the Nile in Egypt, killing at least 10 people
- Death toll rises to 10 after Egyptian ferry sinks in Nile
