Egypt: At least nine people killed in shipwreck near Alexandria

Rescue workers In Egypt are still searching for at least five missing people after a shipwreck near the city of Alexandria.

At least nine people, including three children, are confirmed to have died after a boat capsized in Lake Mariut late on Monday.

The boat was carrying at least 19 members of the same family and was returning from an entertainment voyage, ambulance officials said.

Authorities have recovered the bodies of the nine victims, while at least five people were earlier rescued and transferred to hospitals.

Relatives of the victims spent the night on the lake’s shoreline, hoping for news.

Temperatures in the water reportedly fell below already cold temperatures overnight and calls for volunteer divers have circulated on social media.

Alexandria’s governor, Mohammed el-Sharif, has directed civil protection forces to carry out the rescue and has allocated four hospitals for those injured.

Lake Mariut, on the outskirts of Alexandria in northern Egypt, is connected to the River Nile and the Mediterranean by several canals.