Five survivors, four bodies recovered from capsized tourist boat in the Red Sea

Last updated:Nov 26, 2024 11:21 PM IST

The submarine was hit by a large wave near Marsa Alam in southeastern Egypt.

Red Sea Governor Amr Hanafi speaks to survivors rescued from a capsized ship in the Red Sea port city of Marsa Alam. (IMAGE: AFP)

Rescuers recovered five survivors and four bodies Tuesday from a submarine that capsized off Egypt’s east coast a day earlier, Red Sea Governor Amr Hanafi said.

An army-led team rescued two Belgians, a Swiss, a Finnish tourist and an Egyptian, the governor said, bringing the total number of survivors of the accident to 33.

The “Sea Story” was carrying 31 tourists of multiple nationalities and a crew of 13 when it was hit by a large wave early Monday near Marsa Alam in southeastern Egypt, causing it to capsize.

The four bodies recovered on Tuesday have not yet been identified and seven people are still missing after 28 were rescued on Monday.

A government source close to the rescue efforts said the five survivors were found Tuesday morning in the boat, which the governor said had been tossed on its side by an early morning wave but had not yet completely sunk.

“They were found in one of the rooms that was not filled with water,” the government source told AFP, requesting anonymity because he was not authorized to brief the media.

The group had spent at least 24 hours in the overturned ship after authorities first received distress calls at 5:30 a.m. (0330 GMT) on Monday.

“Rescue operations are underway today, supported by a military helicopter and a frigate, in addition to several divers,” the Red Sea governor told AFP on Tuesday, but declined to give further details of the operation.

The four bodies recovered on Tuesday were also in the stricken ship.

The boat had started a multi-day diving trip on Sunday and was due to dock in the city of Hurghada, 200 kilometers north, on Friday.

The governor said Monday that the ship capsized “suddenly and rapidly within five to seven minutes” after the wave hit, leaving some passengers — including European, Chinese and American tourists — unable to leave their cabins in time.

Still missing

Army rescuers and a passing tourist boat rescued 28 people from the water on Monday.

Six tourists and three Egyptians were admitted with minor injuries and discharged on Monday, according to a source at a hospital in Marsa Alam.

Among the tourists were “two Germans, two British, a Spaniard and a Swiss,” the hospital administrator told AFP, requesting anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

According to the governor’s office, the boat was carrying tourists from Belgium, Britain, China, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Poland, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland and the United States.

The missing include two Polish tourists and one from Finland, according to the foreign ministries of both countries.

Authorities in Egypt said the ship was fully licensed and had passed all inspection checks. A preliminary investigation showed that there was no technical defect.

There were at least two similar boat accidents in the Marsa Alam area earlier this year, but no fatalities.

The Red Sea coast is a major tourist destination in Egypt, a country of 107 million in the grip of a severe economic crisis.

At a national level, the tourism sector employs two million people and generates more than 10 percent of GDP.

Dozens of dive boats daily crisscross the coral reefs of the Red Sea and islands off Egypt’s east coast, where safety regulations are strict but unevenly enforced.

Earlier this month, thirty people were rescued from a sinking submarine near the Daedalus Reef in the Red Sea.

In June, 20 French tourists were safely evacuated before their boat sank in a similar accident.

Last year, three British tourists died when a fire broke out on their yacht.

(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed – AFP)