Red Sea ferry wreck found

CAIRO - The wreck of a ferry that sank in the Red Sea, killing around 1,000 people, has been found and a search for its "black box" is under way, Egypt's transport minister says.

Ships carry a Voyage Data Recorder, similar to the device used on planes, to store details like the position of the ship, direction of travel and weather conditions.

Minister Mohamed Loutfi Mansour said the Al Salam 98 had been found on the seabed in 800m of water 90km from Safaga, the Egyptian port it was heading for when it sank, the official Middle East News Agency (MENA) reported.

Mansour said the Egyptian authorities were working with international experts. The team plan to start work to recover the black box on Saturday using a robot and will take pictures of the ship to find clues to how it sank, it said.

The 35-year-old ferry was carrying 1,414 people from Saudi Arabia to Egypt when it disappeared on February 3. Only 388 people were rescued. The public prosecutor said on Thursday 409 bodies had been recovered so far, MENA reported.

Families of the victims have criticised the government for not responding quickly enough to the sinking and the ferry firm for operating an old vessel.

- REUTERS