Gazan divers search for missing Egyptians after storm
Amateur and professional divers are searching Gaza's coast for Egyptian sailors feared dead in a goodwill gesture toward Cairo.
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Around 30 amateur and professional divers in the Gaza Strip are searching off Gaza's shores for Egyptian sailors who went missing Feb. 17 off Egypt's Port Said during the rainstorm that hit the area Feb. 16 and went on for days.
The mission began Feb. 26 from the shores of al-Zahra city and reaching 25 kilometers (15 miles) south to Rafah. The Palestinian divers are searching the sea, bearing Egyptian flags in solidarity.
The Ministry of Interior in the Gaza Strip announced Feb. 20 that it had found the body of one of the four missing sailors who was washed up on the shore of Rafah. “Identification documents found on the body indicated that the deceased was Egyptian,” the ministry said.
Palestinian fishermen are often shot at by the Egyptian navy when they near Egypt's maritime border and this initiative seems to be sending a message to Egypt to soften its policies toward those who accidentally cross into Egyptian waters while fishing.
