Another survivor rescued following Red Sea ship sinking
Cairo- A Sudanese man was rescued on Tuesday as Egyptian authorities continue to search for survivors a day after a Cypriot-registered cargo ship capsized in the Red Sea, police have told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.
The Sudanese survivor raises the number of people rescued to 10 of the 26 men on board the Ibn Battuta. On Monday, the bodies of two crew members were pulled from the water.
Police say those rescued from the vessel include four Somalis, two Iraqis, a Bangladeshi, a Yemeni and an Ethiopian.
Preliminary reports indicate that adverse weather conditions were behind the accident. Authorities are looking for the ship's black box recorder to ascertain the exact cause of the accident.
The Ibn Battuta was carrying a cargo of 6,500 tons of sand used for manufacturing glass, according to Egypt's official Middle East News Agency.
The ship had passed the Suez Canal and was bound for the United Arab Emirates when it capsized near Egypt's Red Sea port of Safaga after sending a distress signal early Monday.
In February 2006, more than 1,000 passengers drowned when a ferry sank near the same port, in a case that sparked widespread anger at the ferry owners and the government's response. (dpa)