An Egyptian cruise ship with 1,300 people on board has disappeared in the Red Sea off the Saudi coast, Egyptian maritime officials said Friday.

Lifeboats carrying people have been spotted near where the ship, the "Salaam 98," was last seen, maritime officials said.

Saudi and Egyptian naval vessels and helicopters were searching for the ship, which disappeared from radar screens shortly after sailing from the port of Dubah, western Saudi Arabia, at 7 p.m. local time on Thursday night, the maritime officials in Suez said.

They spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to address the media.

The ship was to have arrived at Egypt's southern port of Safaga at 3 a.m. local time, the officials added.

"We lost all contact with the ship shortly after it left the Saudi port," said one maritime official at Suez. Its last position on the radar screens was 62 miles from Dubah.

An Egyptian helicopter spotted a lifeboat carrying three people, an official said. He added the search was being hampered by bad weather.

The ship is owned the Egyptian company El-Salaam Maritime Transport Co. and was carrying 1,300 passengers, the official added. Some of the passengers are believed to be pilgrims returning from the annual hajj to Mecca, which ended last month.

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Red sea.

AP