Egypt: 16 Missing In Red Sea Boat Tragedy

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News

CAIRO (Worthy News) – Egyptian authorities confirmed Monday that at least 16 people are missing, including foreigners, and 28 have been rescued after a tourist boat sank in the Red Sea.

The boat Sea Story was carrying 44 people, including 31 tourists of varying nationalities and 13 crew on a multi-day diving trip, sank Monday near the town of Marsa Alam, the Red Sea Governorate said.

Authorities did not indicate the possible cause of the incident and added that people onboard suggested that a wave hit the boat and caused it to capsize.

Weather forecasters had reportedly warned against marine activities for Sunday and Monday.

Red Sea Governor Amr Hanafi said that preliminary reports suggested a sudden large wave struck the boat, capsizing it within 5-7 minutes. “Some passengers were in their cabins, which is why they were unable to escape,” he added in the statement.

DISTRESS CALL

The governorate said the boat’s distress call was received at 5:30 a.m. local time. It had departed Sunday from Porto Ghalib in Marsa Alam, a tourist town in the south-eastern located on the western shore of the Red Sea.

Worthy News established that the crew had planned to return to Hurghada Marina, the coastal capital of the Red Sea Governorate of Egypt, on November 29.

It was unclear why the boat had left despite apparently meteorological warnings, which added to concerns about safety precautions surrounding marine activities in Egypt.

In 2023, three British tourists went missing, and 12 were rescued after a motor boat caught fire off Marsa Alam.

The year 2016 saw one of the worst sea disasters in Egypt when a boat carrying about 600 migrants sank in the Mediterranean, killing at least 170 people. At that time, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said, “Egyptians must join hands with the government” to prevent a repeat of such a tragedy.

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