cheap holidays in Taba

10:10am Friday 12th March 2010 in

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Torrential Storms Cause Tragedy In The Nile

After heavy rain storms struck Egypt yesterday, a British schoolteacher died after being capsized from a felucca boat, where he and his wife were enjoying a two-day excursion.

Along with Luke Day, 31, and his wife, another two tourists were also on the excursion. Two Egyptian women were also killed when the vessel sank.

After capsizing, Luke Day successfully freed his wife and two other holidaymakers from the vessel, but became trapped beneath the overturned boat.

The incident took place at 3am on Monday 18th January after a storm hit, bringing high winds and brutal waves.

The storms struck on land too, with power lines being damaged in the south of the country, around 300 clay-built homes being destroyed in villages around Aswan and huge floods surged into the South Sinai, killing one woman. The floods have affected those on cheap holidays in Taba and the popular Sharm El Sheikh.

A spokeswoman said: "This is a result of freak floods in Egypt and Israel, which has affected some rivers. As far as we know, nothing like this has ever happened before."

Felucca sailing boats have large triangular sails and offer a dreamy, serene alternative to a cruise ship. They are usually regarded as a calm and safe method of transport and are offered by local company's as well as British travel companies.

Now the question is emerging, are Nile feluccas safe?

Many websites advise potential customers to check that the boat is safe and to meet the captain before agreeing to take a trip. If any circumstances change prior to sailing, i.e. the boat is swapped for a different one or another captain will be sailing, it is your responsibility to decide whether other arrangements should be made.

According to the Egyptian State Tourist Office, all feluccas are licensed by a local authority, which carries out checks on boats and crew to ensure safety standards are maintained.

The adventure tour operator, Explore Worldwide, have been offering felucca excursions for over 20 years and advertise them on its website.

Peter Eshelby, Explore product manager for Africa, said "Nothing like this has happened in Explore's living memory of 20 years of working with feluccas on the Nile."

He recommends holidaymakers who decide to book a felucca excursion to book with a reputable UK tour operator, which will take responsibility for your safety under the EU Package Travel Directive.

Holidaymakers must always take into account that it is impossible to guarantee 100% safety whenever water is concerned, whether you're booking luxury stays in Cairo, cheap holidays in Taba or lazy beach breaks in Sharm El Sheikh, you should always take extra precautions when booking local excursions.