Egypt's Foreign Min. Follows up on Status of Injured Egyptians during Ship Explosion in Turkey

On Wednesday, the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that it is closely following up on all updates related to the explosion of a cargo ship off Turkey’s coast, which left several of its 17-member crew, including 14 Egyptians, injured.

An Egyptian citizen, Mohamed Qassem, was among those killed when a cargo ship exploded off the coast of Turkey last week, and procedures for repatriating his body are being completed, Egypt’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. 

The Panama-flagged multi-cargo ship Beata Alfa had 17 crew members onboard, including 14 Egyptians, when it exploded in the Black Sea on Tuesday 20 December.

Turkish authorities have not disclosed the causes of the blast.

All 14 Egyptians were injured and the captain Hisham Thabet, who is also Egyptian, remain missing and may have drowned, according to Turkish local reports.

Qassem, a naval engineer, died from burns suffered during the blast, a report cited Mohamed El-Rawy, the Secretary-General of the Egyptian Marine Officers Union, as saying on Wednesday.

The union, he said, is coordinating with relevant authorities to repatriate Qassem’s body and is also coordinating with the company owning the ship to ensure that his family gets the proper compensation.

Search is still underway for the missing captain, the Ministry of Foreign affairs said.

Four of the injured have left the hospital after recovering, the ministry noted, adding that the other injured Egyptian citizens are expected to stay in hospital for a longer period.

According to the ministry, the Egyptian Embassy in Ankara continues to contact the shipping agent to make sure that the injured citizens receive their financial dues and that the agent bears the cost of treatment until they recover.

The ministry added that it is following up closely on the condition of the injured and is coordinating with various Egyptian ministries and relevant authorities on the issue.