Ikhwanweb :: The Muslim Brotherhood Official English Website

?Members of the Muslim Brotherhood parliamentary bloc set up an emergency relief committee in conjunction with deputies Dr Abdul Hamid Zaghloul and Dr Mohamed Fadl from Rashid and Motobos. The committee was formed with the intention of providing relief aid and the essential first aid services to the injured survivors of the catastrophic ferries which collided. The committee also monitored the latest developments with regards to the survivors by making the necessary contacts with hospitals.

Deputy for Rosetta (Rashid) Dr. Abdel Hamid Zaghloul, who was at the scene immediately before the presence of any official relayed that he did not leave until the search for the bodies had ended, adding " I made contact with the responsible parties of the governorate and Egyptian Rescue Organization; however they not only arrived late they also proved to be inexperienced divers."

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He indicated that he continued to make contacts with the Governor of Kafr El-Sheikh, forcing him to send 70 divers at midnight. The divers arrived without the necessary equipment for the rescue efforts to be successful; they even lacked unsophisticated equipment such as lamps which resulted in the postponement of the rescue mission till morning".

A large number of the Brotherhood's Deputy Staff was present at the scene and the hospitals to monitor the situation and provide assistance to the families of those who had drowned or were injured.

Dr. Mohamed Fadl, Deputy for Motobos, stressed that he had cooperated with the Directorate of Social Solidarity in order to provide emergency assistance to the families of the victims.

Saad Khalifa, a member of the Brotherhood's parliamentary bloc, accused Egypt's Inland Transport Authority of negligence. He attributed the disaster to the officials' failure to perform its assigned duties which consists of regular inspections of the ferries to determine their efficiency, in addition to the shortage of security and safety equipment.

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In an urgent statement to the Prime Minister and Minister of Transport and Communications, he condemned the organization's disregard on the availability of trained and qualified crews to lead the cruisers. He claimed "They allowed non-qualified and unlicensed juniors to drive the ferries as well as following unselected routes ignoring the routes that the ferries' drivers must follow demonstrating once again the innocent civilian is the victim".