Survivors of the Egyptian tourist boat tragedy were found inside the overturned vessel after rescuers broke into a room not yet filled with water, an official has revealed as the hunt for two lost Britons continues.
The ‘Sea Story’ had been carrying 31 tourists of multiple nationalities and a 13-member crew when it was hit by a large wave near Marsa Alam in southeastern Egypt early on Monday, causing it to capsize.
A government source close to rescue operations said the five survivors were found on Tuesday morning inside the boat, which the governor said had been thrown on its side by an early morning wave but had not completely sunk.
‘They were found inside one of the rooms which had not filled with water,’ the government source told the AFP news agency, requesting anonymity because he was not authorised to brief the media.
The group had spent at least 24 hours in the overturned vessel after authorities first received distress calls at 5:30 AM local time on Monday.
‘Rescue operations are ongoing today, supported by a military helicopter and a frigate in addition to multiple divers,’ Red Sea governor Amr Hanafi said today, declining to provide any further details about the operation.
A military-led team rescued two Belgians, one Swiss national, one Finnish tourist and one Egyptian, the governor said, bringing the total number of survivors from the accident to 33.
Rescuers and medics are seen on a pontoon after the boat capsized early yesterday morning
Medics wait for possible survivors after a boat sank at a harbour in Marsa Alam, November 25
A file photo dated November 20, 2024 shows an aerial view of the Red Sea pier where Sea Story was docked
Medics and people wait for possible survivors after a boat sank at a harbour in Marsa Alam, Red Sea Governorate, in Egypt, 25 November 2024
The four bodies recovered on Tuesday were also located inside the stricken vessel.
The boat had embarked on a multi-day diving trip on Sunday and had been due to dock on Friday at the town of Hurghada, 200 kilometres (124 miles) north.
The governor on Monday said it capsized ‘suddenly and quickly within 5-7 minutes’ of the impact with the wave, leaving some passengers – among them European, Chinese and American tourists – unable to set out of their cabins in time.
Rescuers from the military and a passing tourist boat pulled 28 people from the water on Monday.
According to a source at a hospital in Marsa Alam, six tourists and three Egyptians were admitted with minor injuries and discharged on Monday.
The tourists included ‘two Germans, two Britons, one Spaniard and one Swiss national,’ the hospital administrator told AFP, requesting anonymity because they were not authorised 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.
Among the missing are two Polish tourists and one from Finland, according to both countries’ foreign ministries.
Survivors earlier described their horror as the boat capsized and filled with water, with one of the British tourists who made it out alive detailing how he got free.
An experienced diver who was on the tour reportedly said: ‘I heard screams coming from the cabins, but many could not get out because the doors were closed and the room was filled with water.’
Another of the survivors, a British tourist, added: ‘It was dark and the water suddenly surrounded us on all sides. I tried to swim to the surface, but the current was very strong and I felt like I was about to suffocate.’
The man credited his life jacket with saving him by keeping him buoyant before the first rescue teams arrived.
The boat named Sea Story (pictured) had 31 tourists of different nationalities as well as 13 crew members on board when it sank
Survivors of the sinking boat rest at a harbor in Marsa Alam, Red Sea Governorate, in Egypt, 25 November 2024
The boat was carrying 31 tourists of various nationalities – among them four Britons and two Americans – as well as 13 Egyptian crew members on board, according to local media outlet Masrawy (pictured: people waiting on the beach for survivors)
Medics wait for possible survivors after a boat sank at a harbour in Marsa Alam, Red Sea Governorate, in Egypt, 25 November 2024
The nationalities of the four people whose bodies have been found have not yet been confirmed.
Rescue teams had been ‘intensifying efforts’ to find those who had gone missing after the 34-metre-long boat sank.
Those who escaped the vessel said a ‘high sea wave’ had hit it and caused it to capsize in ‘about five or seven minutes’, Mr Hanafi said.
Some passengers were inside the cabins, ‘which is why they couldn’t get out of the boat’, he added in a statement.
The incident occurred during rough weather conditions, with the Egyptian Red Sea Ports Authority reporting wave heights of 10-13 feet and wind speeds of 34 knots in the area on Sunday, leading to the closure of maritime traffic.
A surviving crew member said the boat was ‘hit by a wave in the middle of the night, throwing the vessel on its side’, according to a manager of a diving resort close to the rescue operations.
The boat departed on a diving trip from the port of Ghalib in Marsa Alam on November 24 and was scheduled to arrive at Hurghada Marina on November 29.
Some of the survivors were reportedly flown back to shore by a helicopter to receive medical care, while others were transported via another boat.
The search was reportedly made more difficult due to bad weather, which comes after authorities in the Red Sea capital of Hurghada on Sunday shut down marine activities and the city’s port – also due to ‘bad weather conditions’.
But winds around Marsa Alam had remained favourable until Sunday night, the diving manager told AFP, before calming again by morning.
The firm that operates the yacht, Dive Pro Liveaboard in Hurghada, Egypt, said yesterday it had no information on the matter.
Hanafi said the boat had passed its last safety inspection in March 2024, with no technical issues reported. The boat, owned by an Egyptian national, was 34 meters long and had received a one-year safety certificate from the Maritime Safety Authority.
Ship tracking website Marine Traffic showed the last location shared by the boat as somewhere off Hurghada.
The Sea Story is a 144ft, four-deck pleasure craft built in 2022, which can carry up to 36 passengers.
The boat has a total of 18 twin cabins with en-suite bathrooms on board, which are used for tourists on diving trips hoping to explore the Red Sea reefs.
Authorities have not confirmed the nationalities of the tourists and it is unclear who is among the rescued and who is still missing.
The Chinese embassy in Egypt said Monday two of its nationals were ‘in good health’ after being ‘rescued in the cruise ship sinking accident in the Red Sea’, Chinese state media reported.
The Sea Story is a 144ft pleasure craft built in 2022, which can carry up to 36 passengers
Ship tracking website Marine Traffic showed the last location shared by the boat as somewhere off Hurghada
The dining room for the passengers on the Sea Story is pictured above
Polish foreign ministry spokesman Pawel Wronski said authorities ‘have information that two of the tourists may have had Polish citizenship’.
The Finnish foreign ministry confirmed to AFP news agency that one of its nationals is also among the missing.
A spokesperson for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office told MailOnline: ‘We are providing consular support to a number of British nationals and their families following an incident in Egypt and are in contact with the local authorities.’
It is not the first time this year a diving tour boat sank in the Red Sea. Earlier this month, 30 people were rescued from a sinking dive boat near the Red Sea’s famous Deadalus reef.
In June, two dozen French tourists were safely evacuated before their boat sank in a similar accident.