THE captain of a pleasure boat which capsized, killing at least 57 people, including 15 Britons, was being questioned today.
Investigators in Bahrain said the captain was not licensed to take charge of the boat.
And the owners said the vessel may have turned over in calm waters of the Persian Gulf because of the numbers on board.
Investigators are examining whether the two-deck Arab dhow was working properly and had met safety regulations.
Three British victims were named as David Evans, 56, Will Nolan, 50, and Stephen Grady, 42.
Chris Braysher, 47, a fourth man also identified, had joint British and South African nationality.
The men, all senior managers with South African building company Murray and Roberts, were guests on the boat.
It capsized on Thursday night less than a mile off the coast.
Another Briton reported to have died was engineer Scott Belch, 33, from Redhill, Surrey, along with his German wife, Sandy.
Building worker David Roote, of Darlington, was on board, but escaped.
His son, Andrew, said: "My dad rang me as soon as he could to let me know he was safe. He is naturally very shaken up, but considers himself very lucky."
UK building firm Atkins said five members of its Bahrain-based staff and three partners or relations had been confirmed dead. One staff member and one relative are still missing.
The death toll also included 21 Indians, five South Africans, five Filipinos, four Singaporeans, four Pakistanis, one Irish, one German and one South Korean.
The Bahraini authorities said 67 people had been rescued.
Most of those on board were associated with the Bahrain World Trade Centre building project. They were celebrating the completion of part of the scheme.
