Relatives ‘kept in the dark’

Hundreds of relatives of passengers from an Egyptian ferry that sank in the Red Sea have headed to the port of Safaga, where the ferry had been heading, amid mounting discontent over the lack of information on the fate of the missing.

There are conflicting reports of survivors being brought to shore

They crowded for hours outside the city’s port on Saturday, shouting at police barring the iron gates and complaining about the lack of information on their loved ones.

 

“This is a dirty government, may God burn their hearts as they burnt mine,” one woman said, slapping her face in grief. “I want my brother. I have no one else in this life.”

 

Contradictory reports

 

Well after nightfall, there were contradictory reports of whether any survivors had been brought to shore.

 

“They are too busy preparing the president’s visit and they don’t have time to care about our sons”

Egyptian citizen

A security official said 20 had been sent to a Safaga hospital, but police at the port’s entrance told families that none was back.

 

The expected visit of Hosni Mubarak, the president of Egypt, to Safaga later on Saturday has increased the anger of the relatives.

 

Government employees could be seen hastily applying a fresh layer of paint on the town’s pavements.

 

“They are too busy preparing the president’s visit and they don’t have time to care about our sons,” one Egyptian said.

Source: News Agencies