Egypt will combat illegal migration through updating existing anti-human trafficking legislation, and new legislation now being drafted, Sisi reportedly said. One of them is the owner of the vessel.
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The prosecution also ordered the release of 160 rescued survivors of the capsized boat, including 117 Egyptians and 43 foreigners.
Mohammed Sultan, the governor of Beheira province, where Rosetta is located, told The Associated Press that authorities did not have a precise number for those who were on board the vessel, but 250-400 seemed likely.
Mahmoud Aly spent Wednesday going between hospitals along the coast. His brother and cousin were on the boat.
Investigations into the unfortunate incident have been started and officials are looking into the “Smuggling” aspect as these type of happenings occur due to overloading by smugglers who stuff people inside old boats for want of money. Hundreds had drowned after a wooden boat from Libya capsized in May a year ago.
Different routes, particularly from Egypt, are longer and riskier, leading to search and rescue efforts often being carried out farther away from land.
The European Union launched “Operation Sophia” a year ago to destroy smuggler boats that could be used to ferry refugees across the sea. “Although we are not Europeans, they take good care of people, while our country doesn’t”.
Mohamed Abu Arab, a fisherman based in nearby Rashida, told CNN that he and other fisherman are used to finding three, four or five bodies from failed migrant crossing attempts.
Today’s incident comes two days after Egypt’s president Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi said at a United Nations meeting that “illegal immigration” should be at the top of global priorities. “This is a disaster”.
Young Egyptians rest at a police station in Rosetta, Egypt, as they were detained after rescued from a boat capsized off the Mediterranean coast near the Egyptian city of Alexandria, Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2016. “Everyone is helping. All security agencies are involved”. The army claimed to have thwarted an illegal immigration attempt, saying the boat had sunk 12 miles out at sea.
On Tuesday, the military arrested 68 people in the same area off the coast of Matrouh on a boat headed for Europe. They were captured off the coast of Matrouh.
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It’s the latest tragedy among migrants trying to reach Europe.
