Egyptian authorities say 17 people are missing, including foreigners, and 28 have been rescued after a tourist boat capsized in the Red Sea.
A distress signal was detected at 05:30 (03:30 GMT) from the Sea Story, which left a port near Marsa Alam on Sunday on a five-day diving trip with 31 guests and 14 crew members, according to the governor of the Red Sea province. .
Red Sea Governor Maj-Gen Amr Hanafi said the survivors were found in the area of Wadi el-Gemal, south of Marsa Alam, and were receiving the necessary medical assistance.
The BBC understands that two British tourists have been rescued and two are still missing.
Hanafi added that the Egyptian navy’s warship El Fateh and military aircraft are intensifying their efforts to find the missing.
“A serious search operation is ongoing in cooperation with the navy and the army,” he said.
Authorities have yet to say what caused the incident.
On Saturday, the Meteorological Authority of Egypt predicted that there will be chaos in the Mediterranean and the Red Sea due to the weather, and warned people against marine activities on Sunday and Monday.
The wind speed was between 60-70 km/h, and the wave height was three to four meters high.
According to the local council in Marsa Alam, the staff of the Sea Story are all Egyptians and the guests on board the boat include five Spaniards, four Britons, four Germans and two US nationals.
It is not clear who is among the rescued and who is still missing.
Finland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed to the AFP news agency that one of its citizens is one of the missing.
A spokesman for Britain’s Foreign Office said they were in contact with the authorities, and were providing “support to a number of British nationals and their families following the incident in Egypt”.
The Chinese embassy in Egypt confirmed that the two people there are “in good health” after being rescued, according to their media, as reported by AFP.
Marsa Alam is a popular tourist destination on the Red Sea coast of southern Egypt and is surrounded by diving spots, including famous coral reefs.
There was no immediate word from Sea Story’s Egypt-based owner and operator, Dive Pro Liveaboard.
But its website says the ship is being built in 2022 and is 44m (144ft) tall. It has four decks and 18 cabins that can accommodate 36 passengers.
Last year, three Britons died off the coast of Marsa Alam after their submarine caught fire.
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