Egypt boat accident: Sea Story probably sank in strong waves

Search for missing people continues –

Boat in the Red Sea probably had an accident in strong waves

The sunken “Sea Story” is said to have had no technical defects. The authorities blame a large wave for the accident.

Published today at 9:49 am

Emergency doctors wait on the shore to receive survivors of the boat accident.

Foto: Egyptian Press Center (Keystone)

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The Boat “Sea Story” sunk off the Egyptian coast probably had an accident in heavy waves in the Red Sea. This was announced by Amr Hanafi, the governor responsible for the region, citing descriptions from the crew and tourists after the accident. A large wave hit the boat and caused it to capsize.

The multi-story “Sea Story” capsized within minutes and some passengers did not make it out of their cabins in time. The boat had no technical defects and also had all the necessary approvals including an inspection in the spring, Hanafi wrote on Facebook.

The search for the missing people will continue on Tuesday. The tourist boat “Sea Story” sank early on Monday morning near the resort of Marsa Alam. In addition to 30 tourists, there were also 14 crew members on board.

Several beaches in the popular holiday resort were closed.

Foto: Egyptian Press Center (Keystone)

Hanafi explained that 16 of a total of 44 people on board the “Sea Story” were still missing. There was previously talk of 17 missing people out of a total of 45 people on board. The missing people are twelve tourists and four crew members. According to the authorities, two people with Swiss passports were among the passengers. One of them is still missing.

28 “Sea Story” passengers were rescued

There were also tourists from Great Britain, the USA, Poland, Belgium, Germany, Finland, China, Slovakia, Spain and Ireland on the ship. The search for the missing people is continuing with an Egyptian military frigate and helicopters, Hanafi told dpa.

Since the accident following an emergency call early Monday morning, 28 survivors have been rescued. Among other things, another tourist boat picked up some of them, Hanafi explained. “All rescued passengers are doing well,” said Hanafi, according to his statement. They stayed in a hotel in the coastal town of Marsa Alam. They are working with the help of the various embassies to get them documents for the journey home.