Five acquitted in 2006 Egypt ferry disaster

Five of six defendants in Egypt's worst maritime disaster were acquitted on Sunday, with only one person found guilty of failing to help in the 2006 ferry sinking which claimed 1,000 lives.

The courtroom erupted in anger as only Salaheddin Gomaa, captain of another ferry, the Saint Catherine, was jailed for six months for failing to come to the assistance of the Al Salam Boccaccio 98, a judicial source said.

The Al Salam sank in the middle of the Red Sea on February 3, 2006 as it was carrying more than 1,400 people from Saudi Arabia to the Egyptian port of Safaga, where the trial was being held.

Gomaa was also fined EGP10,000 (Dh6,900) at the end of the long-running trial, while main defendant Mamduh Ismail, who owned the 36-year-old Al Salam, was acquitted.

Also accused were Ismail's son and three Al Salam executives. Ismail, his son and one of the executives are not currently in Egypt.

In 2006, a parliamentary commission of inquiry blamed Al Salam for the disaster, saying the firm had continued to operate the ferry "despite serious defects" in the vessel.

It also said the government "failed to manage the crisis adequately" in the days after the sinking.

Ismail had denied responsibility for the disaster, and accused the captain of the Al Salam 98, who went down with his ship, of overestimating the crew's ability to fight a fire that broke out on board.

The passengers on the ferry were mostly Egyptian migrant workers, some of whom were bringing months', if not years', worth of savings to their families back home.