Four killed during oil-drilling ship capsize in Gulf of Suez

In the Gulf of Suez an oil-drilling ship has capsized, according to authorities at least four crewmen have lost their lives with a further four missing, reported the Associated Press.

Along the integral shipping route up the Red Sea, the ship keeled over on the evening of June 24th on the African side of the gulf, off the coast of the city of Ras Ghareb, according to a statement from the petroleum ministry. The area of the capsizing is called Gabel el-Zeit and is a prominent site of Egyptian oil production just 300 kilometres south of the Suez Canal, stated the ministry.

Aboard the ship were 30 workers when the ship overturned, with rescue teams retrieving 22 of the crew and recovering a further four bodies, said the governor of the Red Sea Province, Amr Hanafy. He stated ships from the Egyptian navy have joined search and rescue efforts for the four unaccounted crewmen, with the search continuing overnight. 

It was unclear what caused the capsizing of the ship, with the investigation being ongoing according to the authorities. 

The capsizing didn’t disrupt other vessels traversing the canal, with a further 33 vessels scheduled to travel through the key waterway on July 2nd, according to Ossam Rabei, the head of the Canal Authority.