CAIRO: The verdict on the case of the Maadi ferry accident, which left nine girls dead, three injured and two missing, was adjourned by Maadi's Misdemeanors Court till July 31. Boat owners Ali Eweis (18) and Mohamed Eweis (28), are charged with involuntary manslaughter. They had rented their small Nile boat to 19 school girls and their supervisors and jumped into the river as it sank on July 16. The prosecution said that Ali Eweis had broken the law by carrying a large group when the boat, whose license expired last year, has the capacity to carry only six passengers. Furthermore, he was using the boat in a zone for which he was not licensed and did not have lifejackets on board. Eweis admitted to the court that he was at the helm when the accident took place; however, but said that the boat only sank when a group of passengers gathered at one side of the boat. Eweis' defense proposed charging the Helwan Governorate and the school trip's supervisors with the same crime, saying that Eweis is "too young to be held responsible for the accident alone." He also accused the rescue team of the Water Police Authority of tardiness, having arrived at the scene of the accident an hour and a half late despite laws stipulating the existence of rescue units every 300 meters along the Nile. The defense demanded LE 5,000 as temporary civil compensation for each victim. Meanwhile, the River Transport Authority announced that it is preparing amendments to the law aimed at intensifying the punishment for breaking operational rules in the transport of goods or passengers. Under the current law, the maximum punishment is a LE 100 fine for operating a boat without a license or carrying goods or passengers that go above the quota specified in the license. The amendments seek to double the fine, introduce prison sentences in certain cases, as well as, unify the process of issuing licenses and overseeing operation. Currently, the River Transport Authority is only responsible for issuing licenses while surveillance and control is delegated to local authorities in each governorate.
