Egyptian Cruise Ship Disappears from Radar

(Cairo) All contact with the Egyptian cruise ship Salaam 98 was lost shortly after it left the Saudi port of Dubah on the Red Sea coast.

From WCBSTV.com:

Egyptian maritime officials say lifeboats containing people have been spotted in vicinity of where cruise liner was last seen on radar.

The ship Salaam 98 disappeared from radar screens shortly after sailing from the port of Dubah, western Saudi Arabia, at 7 p.m. local time on Thursday night, maritime officials in Suez said.

They spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to address the media.

The ship was due to have arrived at Egypt's southern port of Safaga at 3 a.m. local time, but did not, the officials added.

The ship, owned by El-Salaam Maritime Transport Co., carried 1,300 passengers, many of them pilgrims returning from the annual hajj to Mecca. Notably, from my reading, these ships are often overloaded and poorly maintained.

[Update] Another report has been filed with more detailed information.

From CNN.com:

State-run Nile Television, quoting the Red Sea governor, said the ship was carrying 1,415 people -- 1,310 of them Egyptians.

"Our understanding now is that there are survivors," said Egyptian Minister of Transport Mohamed Loutfy Mansour, who said the reports came from helicopter pilots.

"The Coast Guard is doing everything in its power to try to rescue the people." Four frigates were expected to arrive at the site soon, he added.

Helicopters have spotted bodies floating on the sea and one lifeboat carrying three people in the vicinity of where the ship was last seen on the radar screens, maritime officials told The Associated Press.

Egyptian officials confirm that the ship has sunk. No cause has been identified, however, the ship is a roll-on, roll-off ferry design known to suffer stability problems. It's also known that the ship, built in 1970, suffered a collision in 1999.

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