An Egyptian passenger ferry with 1,415 people on board has sunk in the Red Sea.

The ship disappeared off the radar and bodies have been spotted in the sea where it went missing.

A plane has also reported seeing a lifeboat carrying three people, according to health officials.


Egyptian maritime director Mahfouz Taha Marzouk has confirmed the ferry has sunk.

The ship, Salaam 98, was last seen on radar off the Saudi coast about 7pm last night local time.

Saudi and Egyptian naval vessels and helicopters are searching for survivors but say the operation is being hampered by high winds and rain.

El-Salam Maritime Transport official Adel Shukri said they had not received an SOS message.

"Search and rescue planes and boats are out looking for it and we're trying to get in touch," he said.

Most of the passengers are believed to be Egyptians working in Saudi Arabia.

The liner disappeared shortly after sailing from the Saudi Arabian port of Dubah and should have arrived at the Egyptian port of Safaga at 3am today.

Its last position on the radar screens was 62 miles from Dubah.

David Osler, industrial editor at Lloyd's List, said: "It does look like we are fearing the worst."

He described the ship as a roll on, roll off passenger ferry dating back to the 1970s.

He said: "The problem is with this type of ferry is they only need a relatively small amount of water to get on board to start an uncontrollable rocking effect that capsizes the ship."

The ship is owned by Egyptian company El Salaam Maritime Transport, which is run by Mamdouh Ismail. He said the ship was more than 25 years old and registered in Panama.

A sister ship, the Al Salam 95, sank in the Red Sea in October after a collision with a Cypriot commercial vessel.

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