Authorities are still searching for five missing girls following Thursday’s boating accident in Maadi. The Maadi prosecution office decided yesterday to imprison the operator of the boat, which sank on the Nile, pending further investigation. The accident left four girls confirmed dead and many others injured.
The boatman has been charged with involuntary manslaughter, injury to others, and unlicensed possession of a boat.
The boat, which has since been deemed unfit to sail, sank due to excess weight. 19 people were on board at the time of the accident; the boat can safely carry only seven.
Four bodies were pulled out of the water immediately after the incident and delivered to their families.
Dozens of people paid final honors to the dead after prayers were performed at the St. Mina church in Giza, where one funeral service was held for all the victims.
On the day of the accident, according to some rescued passengers, the girls left St. Mina church around midday to visit friends at St. Girgis church in Maadi. They then decided to go on a trip on the Nile. 16 girls, along with three supervisors, took a small boat that sank only three meters into the water.
The boatman jumped into the water, leaving the girls screaming for help. Passersby managed to rescue ten of the girls until rescue authorities arrived. Five girls remain missing.
The victims’ families accuse the officials in Helwan of negligence.
Translated from the Arabic Edition.
