Four young girls drowned Friday whilst eight other young people were injured when a boat sank en route to Gamassah City from Zayan village in Belqass, Daqahlia.
River rescue vehicles, under the leadership of Brigadier General Osama Sufian, were sent to the site of the incident. The injured and the bodies of the dead were taken to Gamassah General Hospital and the incident was reported to the prosecution who have begun an investigation.
This investigation, lead by the Director of Criminal Investigations Major General Mustafa Pasha discovered that the boat suffered engine failure and began to take on water. It was carrying more people than was safe, and was also operating without a license and did not conform to occupational safety specifications.
The four dead girls included 10-year-old Hadiya Ahmad Raafat, 10-year-old Hadir al-Seyed Abdel Fattah, Aya Eliwa Fouad and a fourth child, as yet unnamed. The injured included 23-year-old Hazem Kamal, 22-year-old Eid Gumaa, 27-year-old Ghalia Samir al-Sayed, 22-year-old Hassan Abul Maaty, 15-year old Abd Allah Mohamed, 14-year-old Sanyoura Nour al-Din and Saeed Al-Minshawi.
