Image Credit: AFP file
Cairo: Saudi citizens, who were aboard a boat that sank into the Nile in Egypt this week, survived the accident, media reports said.
The picnic boat sank off Cairo on Tuesday, leaving five dead and 10 others injured. A Saudi family together with an Egyptian family were riding the boat when it sank.
The Saudis — a woman and her children – were rescued, admitted into a Cairo hospital and discharged hours later, Saudi news portal Akhbar24 reported, citing unspecified sources.
The Saudi family departed Cairo for Riyadh Wednesday while Egyptian security agencies are investigating the tragedy, the sources added.
The speedboat was carrying 15 people exceeding its permitted capacity when it sank near the Cairo Qasr El Nil Corniche, according to media reports. All the fatalities were from the Egyptian family.
Rescue teams retrieved three dead bodies and were scouring the Nile for two others.
Eyewitnesses blamed the boat skipper for the mishap, saying he was recklessly driving it, Egyptian newspaper Al Masry al Youm reported. They said he was likely driving under influence of drugs at the time of the accident.
Initial investigations revealed that the tragedy happened after the boat lost its balance and capsized into the river.
Egyptian prosecutors ordered the skipper, who survived the sinking, jailed for four days pending further questioning. He is charged with manslaughter by means of reckless driving, overloading and operating the boat without official licences, the paper added. He will also undergo a drug test.
Nile picnics are popular in Egypt during summer, attracting Egyptians and foreign visitors.
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