Eight Still Missing After Tourist Dive Boat Sinks in Egypt’s Red Sea
-
Hashim Sheikh
- . February 21, 2025
- . Update: February 21, 2025 4:02 pm
The Egyptian authorities keep looking for eight individuals who were lost when a deluxe diving boat tipped over in the Red Sea on Monday morning. The Sea Story headed for Hurghada with 44 guests when it sank during its departure from Port Ghalib Marina near Marsa Alam.
The rescue experts work under the direction of Red Sea Governor Maj. Gen. Amr Hanafi to find 32 people alive including two Belgians, one Swiss national and an Egyptian citizen on Tuesday. Search teams have retrieved four dead bodies from underwater. Both military planes and ships work to locate missing people while medical personnel provide help to the survivors who came ashore through a military ship.
Authorities still need to determine the reason behind the ship sinking. Despite passing inspection in March and holding a relevant year-long license, authorities found no fault with the vessel. Yet the Egyptian Meteorological Authority warned against boating due to dangerous sea conditions on both Sunday and Monday.
At 5:30 local time on Monday the first distress signal came in and prompted search and rescue teams from the region to act fast. Different nationalities among the passengers make it harder for authorities to identify all victims while they conduct rescue operations.
