Four Egyptian navy speedboats and an airplane belonging to the Gulf of Suez Petroleum Company on Saturday rescued 39 Egyptian fishermen from their sinking boat in the Gulf of Suez off the coast of Ras Shaqeer.
Coast Guard authorities, meanwhile, are continuing to look for 39-year-old missing fisherman Mahmoud Mohamad Fayad.
Ras Ghareeb Governor Saad al-Din Amin told Al-Masry Al-Youm that the distressed fishing boat, named "Zahrat Suez," had set out from the port of Suez when its captain, Magdy Higazy, discovered an uncontrollable water leak that caused the crew to lose control of the vessel.
All the fishermen on board then reportedly jumped off the boat before being rescued by navy speedboats. They were then transferred to a second boat heading back to Suez.
Boat owner Mohamad Daud said the leak had been caused when the boat accidentally struck an unlit oil platform. He went on to point out that the fishermen in question were from the Daqahliya, Kafr al-Sheikh and Suez governorates.
Investigations into the reasons for the accident are still underway.
Translated from the Arabic Edition.
