At least 57 people have died after a tourist ship carrying more
than 130 passengers sank off the coast of Bahrain late Thursday,
according to news reports reaching Cairo on Friday.
A total of 63 people had been rescued so far, Coastguard
commander Youssif al-Ghatam was quoted as saying. Rescue work was
still underway to search for survivors.
The boat was on an evening cruise that was expected to last a
couple of hours, the official Bahrain News Agency said, adding it
overturned less than a mile off the coast of Bahrain.
There was no indication of what caused the boat to capsize, as
the weather conditions were fine in the area. U.S. and Bahraini
officials have ruled out the possibility of a terrorist attack.
Overloading could have caused the boat to capsize, the boat's owner
said.
The U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet, based in Bahrain, had dispatched
helicopters, divers and ships to assist in the rescue and recovery
operation.
Most passengers, thought to be a mix of Bahrainis, nationals of
other Gulf nations and Westerners, were employees of a
Bahrain-based company.
Bahrain's security information director, Mohammad Ben Dine, said
passengers included 25 British nationals, 20 Filipinos, 10 South
Africans, 10 Egyptians and a number of Indians Americans and
Bangladeshis.
Bahrain is a wealthy Arab kingdom and a financial hub in the
Gulf region. It is also a close ally with the United States,
hosting the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet.
Thursday's accident came less than two months after an Egyptian
passenger ferry sank in the Red Sea on Feb. 3, killing some 1,000
people.
(Xinhua News Agency April 1, 2006)
