JEDDAH, 7 February 2006 — Forty Saudi survivors of the Red Sea ship tragedy arrived here yesterday from Cairo on a special Saudi Arabian Airlines flight ordered by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah.
They were given an emotional welcome at the airport by relatives and friends as well as Saudi officials including Prince Abdullah ibn Fahd, undersecretary for security affairs at the Makkah governorate, and Lt. Gen. Talal Angawi, director general of border guards.
The Saudia plane had taken off from Tabuk for Cairo carrying 25 Egyptian survivors rescued by the Saudi coast guards. Maj. Gen. Adel Hilal, assistant Egyptian interior minister, who was present at the airport to receive them, praised Saudi Arabia for its helpful stand from the beginning of the tragedy.
As many as 44 of 100 Saudis who were traveling on the doomed Al-Salam Boccaccio 98 that sank in the Red Sea last Friday were rescued by Saudi and Egyptian coast guards along with 357 others, mostly Egyptians.
The 36-year-old ferry, which was driven out of its old European trading route when safety standards were upgraded a few years ago, was carrying 1,415 people from the Saudi port of Duba to Safaga in Egypt when the accident took place.
Saudi survivors who arrived in Jeddah yesterday were: Ibrahim Al-Qahtani, Ahmed Al-Qahtani, Ahmed Al-Jarboue, Ala Jawa, Ala Naqadi, Eman Al-Harbi, Hamoud Al-Shaman, Ranya Al-Samadani, Dalal Al-Harbi, Dunya Al-Samadani, Fahd Al-Rubaie, Saad Al-Dossari, Saud Al-Nafiei, Saud Al-Bishi, Saif Naqadi, Tareq Naqadi, Talal Al-Sufyani, Abdul Aziz Al-Fayez, Abdullah Al-Sulaiman, Atallah Al-Atallah, Fahd Al-Otaibi, Fawaz Al-Samadani.
Other rescued Saudis were: Muhammad Al-Sulaiman, Muhammad Al-Omairi, Muhammad Al-Maawi, Muhammad Al-Qahtani, Mahmoud Salloum, Mishaal Al-Otaibi, Muna Al-Nazouri, Mousa Al-Howaiti, Meesa Al-Harbi, Nasser Al-Andas, Nasser Al-Baqami, Nasser Ayed Al-Baqami, Hala Al-Hawas, Wala Naqadi, Yasser Al-Nafiei, Abdullah Al-Dossari, Farhan Al-Dossari and Musaibeeh Al-Dossari.
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak commended the efforts made by Saudi coast guard divers in rescuing 43 passengers and recovering bodies of many victims of the tragedy.
Survivors and relatives have blamed Al-Salam for using a ship that did not comply with safety standards and accused the crew of ignoring a fire that broke out on board when there was still time to turn back to Saudi Arabia.
Several survivors have accused the ship’s captain Omar Sayed of refusing to acknowledge the risk posed by the fire and charged that the two hours during the blaze raged would have given the ship enough time to return to shore.
“He could have gone back to Saudi Arabia. He’s a madman, he wanted to prove that he’s a hero,” said one man. “I saw a couple embracing their baby before jumping in the water. They didn’t know how to swim,” said Saudi survivor Saud Al-Otaibi.
Cairo teacher Mohammed Sharaf Mustafa recounted scenes of chaos when the ship suddenly capsized and sank.
“Did you see Titanic? It was exactly like that, people trying to hold on, falling, smashing their heads, women and children, on each other, on the metal, on the glass. Everyone screaming,” he explained.
The ferry disaster has fuelled criticism that Egyptian safety regulations are haphazardly enforced and that not enough has been done to educate the public about the need for safety.
— With input from agencies
