Taba, an Egyptian ferry, carrying passengers, cargo and trucks, sank in the Red Sea early on Sunday, according to state-owned news agency MENA.
The 6,600-gt Taba (built 1985) had capsized because the trucks on board the ship were parked mainly on one side, according to Abdel-Rehim Mostafa, spokesman for the Red Sea Ports Authority.
Nine people suffered minor injuries, but all 37 people on board, including 27 crew members, were saved.
Mostafa added that the crew sent SOS signals to the naval base in Safaga port and rescue ships were immediately dispatched to help the stranded passengers and crew. No one was injured.
The ship, which was carrying cargo as well as trucks, sank because the trucks were parked mainly on one side, which caused the ship to tilt and start sinking. About 43 trucks, 27 of its crew as well as 10 drivers were on the board of the sunken ship.
The ship sank shortly after leaving Safaga Port for Saudi Arabia. According to the military spokesperson, the Egyptian navy received a distress signal at 5.05am, indicating the ship was sinking, and dispatched rescue units immediately.
Rescue ships arrived at the scene only half an hour later with the site of the accident being only 17 nautical miles from Safaga and its naval base. The naval vessel ‘Safa’ picked up all 37 people, and brought them back to the port.
In December 2014, a collision between an Egyptian fishing boat and a Jeddah-bound Kuwaiti container ship in the Red Sea resulted in the death of 25.
In February 2006, the country witnessed one of its worst naval disasters, when the Egyptian El-Salam 98 ferry, heading from Saudi Arabia to Egypt, sank, killing at least 1000 people.
