Egyptian boat crash death toll rises as more bodies found in Nile

People gather along the banks as a crane raises a boat which had capsized on the River Nile, during a search for victims, in the Warraq area of Giza, south of Cairo, Egypt, July 23, 2015.

Earlier in the day, Egypt’s health ministry had announced that the number drowned after the collision had risen to 33.

The collision on late Wednesday night happened when a passenger boat travelling down the Nile near Cairo collided with a cargo boat, causing the passenger boat to capsize.

Search efforts are continuing, the Egyptian Health Ministry has said, but officials fear that the chance of finding any more survivors is growing increasingly slim.

Four more bodies were recovered from the Nile Sunday, bringing the death toll from the Nile accident over the weekend to 34.

The family of each victim killed in the pass4engers boat-cargo ship collision that took place south of Cairo Wednesday will get 80,000 EGP ($10,000, ) Youm7 quoted cabinet spokesperson Hossam el-Qaweesh Saturday.

The skipper of the cargo ship has been arrested and ordered to be detained pending inquiry into the incident. The deceased remain in the hospital’s morgue awaiting legal procedures, but the bodies should be delivered soon to their families, the ministry said.

Boat accidents are frequent in Egypt due to overloading and failure to comply with safety standards.