Warraq Court of Misdemeanor on Saturday issued imprisonment sentences against three defendants ranging between 5 to 10 years over their involvement in the collision accident of a cargo ship and a Nile cruise boat which sunk in July killing 40 persons on board.

The captain of the Nile cruise boat received a seven-year prison sentence on Saturday, while the captain of the cargo ship it collided with received five years in prison.

The owner of the chartered boat, who was tried in absentia, was sentenced to 10 years in jail.

Prosecution referred the defendants to court over charges of killing by mistake the passengers who included several children. The cargo ship was also violating the safety rules of navigation in the River Nile as it carried no light signals.

The men were charged with causing the deaths of the victims, operating an unlicensed boat, and sailing on the Nile river at night, which is against the law.

Source: MENA