An Egyptian-Jordanian simulated rescue operation of passengers of a sunken ferry was exercised on Wednesday off the shores of Nuweiba.
The simulation was attended by Khaled Fouda, the governor of South Sinai, Hisham Abu Sena, head of the Red Sea Ports Authority, a team of the armed forces’ search and rescue center and members of the Cabinet’s Information and Decision Support Center.
A ferry fired a distress signal ten nautical miles away from the Nuweiba port, which was immediately received by the armed forces’ search and rescue center, the Red Sea Ports Authority, the naval forces in South Sinai and the Transport Ministry.
Orders were given to rescue teams to sail to the sunken ferry and save the passengers.
An Egyptian aircraft took off to determine the location of the ferry, and the Jordanian navy sent a rescue boat to pick up the survivors.
Meanwhile, the South Sinai Health Directorate and the Red Crescent dispatched 100 ambulances and erected shelters to receive the injured.
The survivors were brought to shore, where they received the necessary medical care.
Abdel Rehim Mostafa, spokesperson for the Red Sea Ports Authority, said the exercise aimed to increase the efficiency of rescue operations and strengthen cooperation between the two countries.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
