Egyptian passengers averted catastrophe in the Red Sea on a trip from Saudi Arabia to the Egyptian port of Safaga, after a terrifying 15-hour voyage that many feared may end tragically. Passengers told Al-Masry Al-Youm that the express ferry El-Riyadh encountered high waves and strong winds during the voyage. Weather conditions forced the captain to stray from the ship's normal route, eventually arriving at a naval base south of Safaga. Sources from the Red Sea Ports Authority confirmed that the ferry departed from the Saudi Arabian port of Yanbu at 6 AM on Friday. On board were 624 passengers, 35 crew members, three cars and 11 trash trailers. The sources added that all of the ferry's motors performed properly and that life vests were distributed to the passengers in case the ship began to sink. Al-Masry Al-Youm conducted interviews with a number of the ferry's passengers by phone. Musaad Salah, a resident of Kafr el-Sheikh and a leader of a group of 40 pilgrims, said that immediately after departure passengers sensed the boat was leaning due to high waves. He said the captain refused to turn back and kept sailing, causing passengers to fear for their lives as the screams of women, the elderly and the sick resounded throughout the ferry. Salah noted that the situation became worse after dark as passengers no longer knew where the boat was heading. The crew, meanwhile, refused to inform the passengers of the ferry's status. According to Salah , the sense of fear heightened when life jackets were distributed. The passengers' panic only abated when they were told the ferry was close to Egyptian shores and their mobile phones began to work again. Hussein el-Harmil, president of the Cairo Company for Ferries, said that the company closely monitored the ferry's status after its departure from the Saudi port. The captain, said el-Harmil, informed the company and the port of Safaga of the poor weather conditions and that he was sailing to the closest port instead. El-Harmil stressed that the ferry and its passengers were not subjected to any harm. El-Harmil added that all the passengers arrived in good health and that the ferry was scheduled to return to Safaga as soon as the weather improved. Translated from the Arabic Edition.
