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'Shaking with cold': Tourists from Egypt boat sinking brought ashore

Seven people remain missing more than two days after the 'Sea Story' was struck by a wave and overturned in the middle of the night

Published: Wed 27 Nov 2024, 2:14 PM

Updated: Wed 27 Nov 2024, 2:15 PM

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  • AFP

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Rescue workers helping tourists and crew members after a diving boat capsized in the Red Sea off Egypt's coast. — AFP

Rescue workers helping tourists and crew members after a diving boat capsized in the Red Sea off Egypt's coast. — AFP

Egypt released video footage on Wednesday of the latest tourists rescued from a boat that capsized off the country's Red Sea coast, where at least four people lost their lives.

Seven people remain missing more than two days after the "Sea Story" was struck by a wave and overturned in the middle of the night.

The vessel had set off Sunday from Port Ghalib, near Marsa Alam in the southeast, on a multi-day diving trip with 31 tourists -- mostly Europeans, along with Chinese and US nationals -- and a 13-member crew.

Thirty-three were rescued, including tourists seen in the video stepping off a speedboat, draped in blankets, at a marina near Marsa Alam.

"We were shaking with cold," one unidentified man said in the footage.

The tourists who appeared in the video had spent at least 24 hours inside a cabin of the overturned vessel before rescuers found them Tuesday morning, according to a government source close to the rescue operations.

A military-led team on Tuesday rescued two Belgians, one Swiss national, one Finnish tourist and one Egyptian, authorities said.

Two survivors -- one identified by authorities on camera as an Egyptian -- were rolled out on stretchers, one of them conscious and speaking.

A Belgian tourist sobbed when she was greeted by an Egyptian general.

Red Sea governor Amr Hanafi said the boat capsized "suddenly and quickly within five-seven minutes" after being struck by a strong wave in the middle of the night, leaving some passengers unable to escape their cabins.

The Sea Story had been due to dock on Friday at the tourist resort of Hurghada, about 200 kilometres (124 miles) north of Marsa Alam.

Authorities in Egypt have said the vessel was fully licensed and had passed all inspection checks. A preliminary investigation showed no technical fault.

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

The Red Sea coast is a major tourist destination in Egypt.

Dozens of dive boats crisscross between Red Sea coral reefs and islands off Egypt's eastern coast every day, where safety regulations are robust but unevenly enforced.



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