At least 324 people survived after an aging Egyptian ferry sank in the waters of the Red Sea on Friday with more than 1,400 people on board, mainly Egyptian workers returning from Saudi Arabia.
According to the AP, passengers said fire broke out on board the ship early in its trip. Egypt's Transportation Minister Mohammed Lutfy Mansour told reporters early Saturday that the fire was "small" and that investigators were working to determine whether it was connected to the disaster. He said there was no blast on the vessel.
At the Egyptian port of Hurghada, some 140 survivors arrived early Saturday. Many said the fire started short time after the ship's departure, but that it kept going and the fire burned for hours.
Another Egyptian said he reported the fire to the ship's crew and they told him to help with the water hoses to put it out. At one point there was a blast, he said.
A spokesman for President Hosni Mubarak said the ferry did not have enough lifeboats.
As of Saturday morning, officials said more than 185 bodies were recovered while hundreds remained missing.
