Several tourists and crew members were rescued after a diving boat capsized off the Egyptian coast in the Red Sea on Monday. Five of the 33 rescued passengers survived for 30 hours in air pockets inside the yacht before they were found.
Witnesses reportedly said that an “abnormally huge” wave struck the boat early Monday morning, causing it to capsize as those on board screamed from inside their cabins. There were 36 passengers and 12 crew members staying on the vessel.
“We had never seen anything like it before. It hit the boat suddenly and caused it to shake violently before it capsized, one crew member said. ”We tried to alert the passengers but there was very little time.”
ADVERTISEMENT
The 13m wooden-hulled vessel sank left Egypt’s Port Ghalib on Sunday before sailing 46 nautical miles off the shore of Marsa Alam. At around 5:30 AM on Monday, it sank in approximately five minutes.
As soon as the incident occured, Captain Alaa Hussein —who was found deceased on Tuesday— sent out a distress signal. A widespread search involving the Egyptian army and navy was quickly launched, during which 28 people, including two British nationals, were rescued from the yacht, some of which were airlifted to the hospital for medical assistance.
One British survivor told investigators that it was dark when the boat sank.
“Water surrounded us. I tried to swim up but the current was too strong and I felt like I was choking,” the passenger continued. “What saved me was my life jacket, which kept me on the surface until the rescue teams arrived.”
Youssef Al-Farmawi, a crew member and diving instructor, survived 30 hours in the capsized boat after running to help a man and a woman in their cabin.
“Youssef was their diving instructor and they were trapped in a cabin but the water flooded the boat. However, about 20 centimeters inside the cabin were still not flooded, which helped them breathe and stay alive until the rescue teams arrived,” his father told The Times.
Two others also managed to use air pockets to survive overnight in the water before being found by Egyptian naval divers.
Four others were found dead, including the captain. The other three victims have not been identified.
Egyptian rescue teams say they were continuing to search for the seven people still missing, including two British nationals.
The sinking follows a slew of safety issues plaguing tourist boats along Egypt’s east coast, a popular diving tourism destination.
Dive Pro Liveaboard, the company running the disaster-stricken trip, has suffered two other sinking incidents in the past three years after fires broke out during expeditions.
