A ship carrying 500 tons of phosphate sank in the Nile on Tuesday in the Qena Governorate after hitting a bridge.
The Environment Ministry and a local drinking water company declared a state of emergency as a precautionary measure.
According to investigations, the ship carrier "Sinai" is affiliated with the Armed Forces and was traveling from Aswan to Cairo. It crashed into the Dndara bridge, which resulted in the cargo falling overboard. The ship staff survived the accident.
Qena governorate local authorities are coordinating with the Egypt Aluminum Company to have a barge pull the sunken tanker and phosphate from the water, said Qena Governor Major General Abdel Hamid al-Haggan.
Irrigation Minister Hossam al-Moghazi said in an official statement Tuesday that the Qena governorate's local authorities also declared a state of emergency and are coordinating with the Environment Ministry and the police to take around-the-clock legal and environmental measures to contain the situation.
Head of the Irrigation Ministry's task force Kawthar Hefny said the drinking water stations near the area of the incident have been closed to avoid any possible side effects from the dissolution of phosphate in the water.
The drinking water company announced an emergency state in Qena, Assiut and Sohag over the incident.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
