Red Sea Ferry Captain First to Escape
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It was a story told over and over by survivors of the sunken ferry. As passengers gathered on deck looking for life jackets and lifeboats, the crew did not help. From the captain on down, no one gave us any instructions on what to do, survivors said. As the fire in the hold raged out of control and smoke engulfed the ship, many of the survivors said the crew did nothing to deploy the rafts or to help passengers into equipment that could have saved hundreds more lives. Officials said the ship had sufficient lifesaving craft and life vests. By the end of Sunday, three days after the "Al-Salaam Boccaccio 98" went down about 55 miles off the Egyptian coast, it is estimated that approximately 1,000 people have died in the tragedy. Survivors told how the captain fled his burning ship by lifeboat and abandoned passengers to their fate. Survivors said a fire broke out, which escalated out of control and was followed by an explosion. The vessel apparently sank two hours later, with no SOS distress signal ever having been sent. The Captain, Sayed Omar, is still unaccounted for. The second officer, who has been rescued, has spoken to the authorities, but not to the media. Strong winds and currents hampered the search and rescue operation, despite the assistance of several foreign countries, including France and the United States. 'The ferry sank due to firefighting operations. Water flooded the garage (car deck), which is where the fire started, and it pooled on one side,' survivors said. 'Then the water increased and increased until the ship listed sharply. It listed 5, 10, 15, and then 25 degrees, and that was the beginning of the end,' added Mr Kamal, who was rescued from a dinghy by Saudi coastguards. Egyptian media and commentators have accused the operators of making the ferry unsafe by adding extra decks, after buying it from Italy and using a Panamanian flag to avoid safety requirements. The owners of the ferry, the Cairo-based el Salam Maritime Transport Company, said in a statement that the ferry complied with all international safety regulations and was certified to work in European waters. The big questions are why the Captain and crew did not send out a distress signal to shore stations, and why they do not appear to have evacuated the ship in good time. Survivors say the fire burned for several hours before the ferry sank. The ferry had 1,200 Egyptian and 112 other passengers and 96 crew members.
