Rescuers search for ferry survivors
03/02/2006 19:09
By Tom Perry
SAFAGA, Egypt (Reuters) - A ferry carrying nearly 1,300 passengers, mainly Egyptians, sank in the Red Sea overnight between Saudi Arabia and Egypt, and rescuers pulled at least 45 dead bodies from the water, officials said on Friday.
Rescuers also plucked 185 survivors out of the sea, shipping company executive Mamdouh Radi told Nile News television.
As darkness fell, search and rescue boats were still bringing the dead and survivors back towards the Egyptian port of Safaga, where the 35-year-old ferry was meant to arrive at 2 a.m. (midnight British time) on Friday, security sources said.
General Mahfouz Taha, head of the Red Sea Ports Authority, said rescue efforts would continue in hope of finding more survivors. But another source close to the operations said: "There aren