Divers Recover Bodies of Captain, Others From Ferry

SAFAGA, Egypt —  Divers began searching a sunken ferry Tuesday and retrieved the body of the captain and dozens of other victims of the weekend disaster in the Red Sea. They said most lifeboats were still attached to the wrecked hulk.

More than 460 passengers and crew members on the Salem Express are thought to have died after the ship hit a coral reef late Saturday. The ship, which was off course, capsized and sank within 15 minutes, six miles from this port.

“There’s no hope that there’s anyone alive because it’s been too long,” said one diver.

Officials said 180 passengers and crew members survived.

Divers said they recovered 40 to 50 bodies Tuesday. Twenty-five were seen at a makeshift morgue, among them the bodies of the ferry’s captain, Hassan Khalil Moro, 45, and two other crew members.

Nadia Moro, the captain’s wife, screamed hysterically when she learned her husband was dead. “Khalil, why didn’t you jump!” she cried before throwing herself to the ground in front of the ambulance carrying her husband’s body.

Brig. Darwish Mustafa said Moro’s body was found in the bridge area, contrary to rumors that he was among the first to jump off or that he had escaped.