Four dead bodies were recovered by the Egyptian naval forces and five people were rescued form Red Sea, a day after a large tourist boat sank on rough waters, according to the Leaders Asia sources, seven people are still missing.
Amr Hanafi, the red sea governor, stated that the yacht named ‘Sea Story’ was struck by high waves on Monday and it took only 7 minutes to completely sink. Based on the sources of Leaders Asia, the boat was 34-metre long and carried 30 tourists from different countries along with 14 crew members. The boat sent a distress signal at 5:30 am local time (3:30 am GMT) on Monday early morning according to the Facebook page of the governorate.
Until now, no details of the nationalities of the people involved in the tragedy have bene disclosed. According to the officials, the missing people are from Egypt and foreign countries. As per BBC, two missing people are from UK, although this has not been confirmed by the British government. Out of the 44 people, 13 were Egyptians including some crew members and 31 were foreigners from US, Germany, UK, Poland, Belgium, Switzerland, Finland, China, Slovakia, Spain and Ireland. Two of the rescued passengers were from UK, according to BBC and UK office confirmed that it was providing consular support to a number of families and British nationals after the incident took place.
Statements from the rescued passengers and the governorate, the boat capsized after being hit by fast-moving waves and some of the tourists were inside their cabins at that time. More than two dozen people were rescued from coastal town of Marsa Alam, some of them were Airlifted to provide medical treatment. Five more people, two from Belgium, an Egyptian, a Swiss citizen and a Finnish national were rescued on Tuesday according to a statement issued by the Red Sea governorate.
Government of Ireland confirmed that the Irish citizen who was onboard was safe, the foreign affairs minister, Micheal Martin stated, “My understanding is that the Irish Citizen is OK and receiving consular assistance.” The Spanish foreign ministry confirmed that the Spanish nationals were rescued and they were out of danger. According to the photos uploaded on governorate’s Facebook page, the rescued tourists can be seen talking to the governor.
The Sea Story was built in 2022 and can carry up to 36 passengers. There were no technical problems identified and the boat obtained all required permits required for a trip when it was last checked for naval safety in March. It left Marsa Alam for a five day journey this time.
Weather forecasters had earlier released warnings of rough waters and high winds. The meteorological authority on Saturday warned about turbulence and high waves in the Red Sea and advised against planning any travelling on Sunday and Monday. Currently, the Egyptian military is coordinating the rescue operation with the governorate.
