Irrigation and Water Resources Minister Hossam Moghazy has denied any link between poisoned cases reported in Sharqiya governorate and the sinking of a phosphate ship in the Nile River water in Qena.

In a statement issued on Friday, the ministry said that irrigation officials in Sharqiya governorate, in coordination with officials of the Drinking Water and Sanitation Company, took samples from the main lake that provides the Delta city with water.

The examined samples proved that the water is free of pollutants and meets technical standards, the statement stressed.