Egypt: Boat driver fully responsible for Warraq tragedy

Assistant Interior Minister Hamed el Oqaily said that the recklessness of the driver led to the sinking of the Warraq boat and death of at least 29 passengers.

The boat driver is fully responsible "for this painful accident," he told MENA.

The driver increased the boat's speed in order to transcend a barge, he noted.

The senior police officer said that the driver did not hear warning hones of the barge due to the very loud noise on the boat, which was carrying a number of passengers celebrating an engagement ceremony in Warraq district on Wednesday.

The death toll from the Warraq boat crash rose to 29 after recovering 11 bodies out of the water, the Health Ministry said in a statement on Friday.

Four bodies were moved to Nasser Institute Hospital and another seven corpses were transferred to Tahrir Hospital, the statement added.

Rescue workers are still pulling bodies out of the water, according to the statement.

The accident took place late Wednesday when the passenger boat traveling down the Nile near al Warraq collided with the barge, causing the boat to smash and capsize.