GIZA, Egypt: Four construction workers died on Sunday when their boat drowned in a canal near Giza area of Egypt, state media reported.
According to reports five others were rescued while there were no whereabouts of the other four passengers.
The small boat was carrying 13 workers when it sank near village of Nekla, about 30 kilometres away from the Cairo.
State-owned newspaper Al-Ahram said that rescuers recovered the bodies of four victims and saved five others. It said efforts were underway to locate the four missing passengers.
The health ministry said passengers rescued in the operation had been shifted to hospital. It said that passengers were suffering from “drowning-induced asphyxia”.
According to western media correspondents at the scene local fishermen pulled a body out of the water.
One of the volunteers, told AFP that they came on the scene more than an hour after the tragic accident and had pulled out four people.
The volunteers are supported by donations from a village nearby to respond to emergencies in the canal.
Drowning accidents are not very uncommon in agricultural areas along canals of Egypt, where small, overloaded boats carry farmers and workers.
There are also regular reports of children and students falling in and failing to swim to shore, which has led local communities to arrange for search-and-rescue operations.
