The Egyptian cabinet has decided Sunday to ban navigation in the Nile along Greater Cairo from sunset to sunrise, a limit that will remain in place until the end of September.
This comes days after a deadly collision occurred in the Nile, leaving at least 38 people dead, in an accident which has attracted widespread public attention.
On Wednesday a ferryboat capsized when “a barge collided” with it in Giza, “shattering” the former, the Interior Ministry said in a statement.
The ministry has attributed the accident to the captain of the barge, who was arrested alongside his assistant.
On Friday, the Water Surface Authority Director Wael al-Sharkawy said the majority of the bodies belonged to children aged 4 to 14.
The cabinet’s decision on Sunday introduced a number of safety measures and created harsher penalties for violators.
The measures include checking the safety of all ferryboats and immediately stopping any boat that does not meet safety standards.
Ferryboats are also obliged to hang clear signs showing the duration of their license and the number of passengers allowed.
Source: Aswat Masriya
