Qena Governor Abdel Hamid el Hagan said on Monday that the the Nile River is free of radioactive materials, particularly the uranium.

"A team of the Nuclear Materials Authority of the Electricity Ministry conducted an environmental survey of the Nile stream especially at the site of the sunken phosphate-laden barge, and the results showed negligible percentage of the radioactive materials," the governor said in statements Monday.

He stressed that the Armed Forces are working hard to salvage the sunken vessel within the coming 24 hours.

"The Nile water is safe according to the analyses of 518 samples," he stressed, pointing out that experts asserted that phosphate cannot be dissolved in water.

An estimated 500 tonnes of phosphate submerged near the Upper Egypt governorate of Qena, when the barge transporting the chemical material capsized after colliding with the Dandara Bridge.
Source: MENA