ROSETTA (Web Desk) – As many as 42 people have drowned after a migrant boat capsized off the Egyptian coast here on Wednesday.
According to Egyptian state media, the boat was carrying about 600 passengers, of which about 150 have been rescued after thorough operation. The deceased include 10 women and 31 children according to multiple media reports.
The stricken boat was transporting Egyptian, Syrian, and African migrants. The mishap took place off the coast of Kafr al-Sheikh but is not clear where the planned termination point was, although officials said the boat was probably Italy bound.
“We have been telling the authorities from 5:30 a.m., that the boat is sinking, and they were saying they had no rescue boats, and no one was moving,” said Hassan Suleiman Daoud, a relative of one of the migrants.
Investigations into the unfortunate incident have been started and officials are looking into the “Smuggling” aspect as these type of happenings occur due to overloading by smugglers who stuff people inside old boats for want of money. Egypt’s Prime Minister Sharif Ismail has ordered that those responsible for the tragedy should be collard.
The accident came a day after the military said it stopped a boat carrying 68 migrants before it set off from Egypt’s northwestern coast, not far from Rosetta.
