Sink ships in the Red Sea, 197 killed

A passenger ship carrying African immigrants burned and sank in the Red Sea, Sudan's territorial waters. Reported only three people survived, while 197 others were killed.

As quoted from the pages of Al Jazeera, Tuesday, July 5, 2011, the ship departed from the state of Sudan towards the Red Sea in Saudi Arabia. Just four hours of sailing, the boat reportedly on fire off the coast of Sudan. Not long after, the ship sank.

Three of the survivors rushed to the hospital. While ship owners, all Yemenis, were arrested on charges of human smuggling.

Al-Jazeera correspondent, Mohamed Vall, said the incident probably occurred because the ship is too fragile. The ships are not factory-made, but handmade in Sudan. "This is a non-factory ship, perhaps this is one of the causes of such incidents," Vall said.

Sudan news agency said the ship was used to smuggle African migrants to Saudi Arabia. The immigrants came mostly from Somalia, Ethiopia, Chad, Nigeria and Eritrea. According to the Sudanese police, quoted by The Telegraph, smuggling of people from Sudan took place in a planned manner.

The smuggler departed about 90 miles south of the port of Sudan, near the Eritrean border. Earlier last week, a ship containing 247 illegal immigrants detained in waters managed state Tokar, Sudan.