Three more bodies were recovered from the Mediterranean Sea near the Egyptian north city of Kafr el-Sheikh on Saturday, raising the number of deaths of a boat sinking last Tuesday to eight, a security source has said. "We have retrieved two bodies. However, we search is on for more bodies," the source added. He said that the two bodies were identified as Mohmaed Abdel Wahid from Gharbiya Governorate and Abdou Mohamed el-Shamy, a Kafr el-Sheikh citizen. The coast guards and divers are working around the clock in search of more bodies after witnesses and fellow passengers estimated their numbers at more than 70. The seven Egyptian would-be illegal immigrants drowned when their boat, ferrying them to Italy, capsized in the eastern Mediterranean near Rosetta city on Tuesday. Around 23 others were nabbed but released by the Prosecution. "The gang that facilitated the human trafficking should be brought to justice as soon as possible to prevent such crimes, which jeaopardise the lives of Egyptian youth," Hazem el-Ashrai, Kafr el-Sheikh Prosecutor-General, said. He named five suspects, who are being tracked down by the police. The Shura Council (the Upper House of Egypt's Parliament) has recently approved a new law toughening the punishment of the human traffickers or those who facilitate the process. The new law, which is being debated by the People's Assembly (the LowerHouse of the Parliament), states the punishment of all those involved in any of the offenses of human trafficking in persons with rigorous imprisonment, a minumum of seven years and not exceeding 20 years and a fine of not less than LE50,000 ($9,000) and not more than 200,000 ($18,000).
