Egypt tourist boat latest: More survivors rescued as search intensifies for remaining missing passengers
Two Britons are still unaccounted for after a tourist yacht sank in the Red Sea
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Your support makes all the difference.Four bodies have been recovered from the tourist yacht which was hit by a “huge wave” and sank off the Red Sea coast of Egypt on Monday.
But five more people were found alive today - two Belgian tourists, an Egyptian a Swiss national and a Finnish national - and rescue teams were still searching for eight missing people, the area’s governor said in a statement. This brings the total number of survivors to 33.
Two Britons were among the 16 people initially reported missing, according to Red Sea governor Amr Hanafi. It is unconfirmed whether the Brits were among the bodies recovered on Tuesday.
The rescue is being coordinated by the Egyptian military and the Red Sea Governate, with armed forces aircraft deployed to the scene.
The boat sank off the Egyptian coastal town of Marsa Alam with 31 tourists of various nationalities and 13 crew members on board.
It has not been confirmed what caused the four-deck motor yacht to capsize, but the Egyptian Meteorological Authority had warned about rough weather, advising against maritime activity for Sunday and Monday on the Red Sea.
Chinese and Polish nationals declared safe
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.
Pawel Wronski, the Polish foreign ministry spokesman, said authorities “have information that two of the tourists may have had Polish citizenship”.
“That’s all we know about them. That’s all we can say for now,” he said. The Finnish foreign ministry confirmed one of its nationals is missing.
Yacht was ‘hit by a wave’ in middle of night
A surviving crew member said the boat was “hit by a wave in the middle of the night, throwing the vessel on its side”.
By Monday afternoon, it had become increasingly “unlikely that the 17 missing would be rescued after 12 hours in the water,” he said.
The boat, named Sea Story, is a 144ft vessel built in 2022. It departed from Port Ghalib on Saturday and was scheduled to return to Hurghada Marina on 29 November.
A distress signal was received at 5.30am on Monday, after which contact was lost.
UK giving consular support to British families
A Foreign Office spokesperson said: “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.”
What caused the yacht to sink?
It was not immediately clear what caused the four-deck motor yacht to sink after it departed from the Egyptian coastal town of Marsa Alam on Monday.
But the Egyptian Meteorological Authority on Saturday warned about rough weather and large waves, advising against maritime activity for Sunday and Monday on the Red Sea.
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