Only One Convicted In Egypt Ferry Disaster That Killed 1,000

July 27, 2008 7:24 a.m. EST

Cairo, Egypt (AHN) - An Egyptian court on Sunday acquitted five of the 6 defendants in the country's worst sea disaster. Only one person was convicted in the ferry wreck that left at least 1,000 people dead in the Red Sea.

Salaheddin Gomaa, a captain of another ferry, the Saint Catherine, was sentenced to six months in prison and a fine of 10,000 Egyptian pounds ($1,880) for failing to come to the aid of the Al Salam Boccaccio 98, the court said.

The Al Salam ferry sank in the Red Sea on Feb. 3, 2006, while traveling with over 1,400 passengers from Saudi Arabia to the Egyptian port of Safaga, where the trial was held.

According to the court's decision, Gomaa failed to show "compassion" and "did not do his duty by failing to go to the rescue of victims." Relatives attempted to enter the courtroom, but were forced back by police.

A 2006 Parliamentary commission into the accident blamed Al Salam for the disaster, arguing that the firm continued to operate the ferry "despite serious defects." Mamdouh Ismail, the owner of the 36-year-old Al Salam, was acquitted on all charges.

Parliament added that the government "failed to manage the crisis adequately" in the immediate days following the disaster.

Ismail, who fled Egypt after the incident, denied responsibility for the disaster, accusing the captain of the ferry who went down with the ship, for overestimating the crew's ability to fight the fire that broke out on board.