Survivors tell of panic aboard ferry

SAFAGA, Egypt – With more than 1,000 passengers feared dead, survivors of Friday’s Red Sea ferry sinking painted Titanic-type horror stories of chaos and hubris and of lifeboats taken by crew members with passengers being left to fend for themselves.

It was only shortly after the aging ship pulled out into the Red Sea from Saudi Arabia that a fire broke out on board, survivors and authorities said Saturday, but the captain insisted on pushing on toward Egypt.

The 35-year-old vessel listed and sank in the early hours of Friday morning, plunging quickly into the cold, deep water with more than 1,400 passengers on board. By Saturday night, at least 376 passengers had been rescued, but there was little hope of finding any more survivors. Most of the victims appeared to be Egyptian workers headed home from jobs in the Persian Gulf.

The fire started on a lower deck, probably in one of the 220 vehicles being hauled by the ferry, Egyptian officials and survivors said. Survivors said they began to smell smoke just an hour after they began the 120-mile journey to Egypt. But the captain refused to turn back, insisting that everything was under control, they said.

“We heard there was a fire in the garage,” said Shaaban Ragab Shaaban, a 36-year-old man from Alexandria who had gone to Saudi Arabia to work as a driver during the annual hajj pilgrimage. “We could see and smell the smoke.”

Shortly before the ferry sank in stormy weather, Shaaban said, he and his friends climbed to the upper deck of the ferry, where they donned life vests. The ferry was heavier on one side, he said, and so the passengers were instructed to stand on the other side in an attempt to balance the craft.

It wasn’t until the bottom of the boat had filled with seawater, and the ferry was plainly tilting over on its right side, that the captain called to abandon ship. Survivors said that there was no time to prepare the 10 larger rescue boats, which hold 100 people each.

When the ship finally began to sink, some passengers said, the crew members climbed into lifeboats and left the travelers on their own. The captain still hasn’t been found, according to the company that owns the ferry.

Lifesaving efforts were muddled. Ten hours passed before survivors, who had been clinging to barrels and sitting in rafts, saw the first signs of rescue teams. Once the rescue began, Egypt fluctuated between turning down offers of help from American and British governments and calling for international assistance.