Last Thursday evening saw nine girls lose their lives when a felucca (a Nile sailing boat) they were boarding sank in the river at Hadiqat Tora southeast Cairo.
The girls, whose ages range between 10 and 18, are members of Mar-Mina church in the overcrowded southwest Cairo district of Umraniya. They were on a church-organised outing to spend an evening at a place on the bank of the Nile where they could enjoy the pleasant Nile breeze for a few hours. Just before heading home, one girl suggested they board a felucca—one of the most popular outings with Egyptians in summer. Being 19 in number, they told the boatman they thought his boat was too small to carry them all, and asked to board two boats, but he assured them his boat usually carried more than double this number and that everything was all right. They got in upon his word but, according to eye witnesses, it took less than five minutes later for the boat to capsize.
The boatman was able to save himself and ten girls were rescued. Nine drowned. Both Anba Theodosius, Bishop of Giza, and Anba Danial, Bishop of Maadi directly headed to the scene of the accident with the families and friends of the girls.
Until Watani went to press, four corpses had been retrieved, and the search for the other five was still ongoing.
A funeral was held at Mar-Mina’s for the five girls on Friday morning. Anba Theodosius officiated.
WATANI International
18 July 2010