The overloaded ferry, carrying 15 day labourers on their morning commute, sank just after 7am on Monday morning near the town of Monshat el-Kanater in Giza. Authorities say the cause of the sinking remains unclear.
Five survivors managed to swim safely to shore and were later discharged from hospital. Recovery teams worked for several hours to locate and retrieve the victims' bodies from the murky waters as villagers watched anxiously from the banks of the Nile.
The Egyptian Ministry of Manpower has confirmed the deceased passengers will each receive compensation payouts of 200,000 Egyptian pounds (around $6,466) for their families. The five survivors will be awarded 20,000 Egyptian pounds ($646) each.
The labourers were travelling to a local construction site when disaster struck. The risky commute is a daily ritual for millions of Egyptian workers who rely on boats to navigate the busy waterways through Cairo and across the Nile Delta.
Maritime accidents are common in Egypt due to lax safety regulations and poor maintenance of vessels. Just last year two passengers died and eight went missing after their truck slipped off a ferry. In 2015, 35 lives were lost when a passenger boat collided with another vessel on the river.
Monday's tragedy has renewed calls for tighter controls and improved safety measures on Egypt's busy water transport network. As the families of the victims mourn, authorities are under pressure to prevent such needless loss of life in future.
Copyright © 2025 Top Indian News
