Marsa Alam: Motor yacht Sea Story sinks off Egypt

What happened?: A boat with 31 tourists on board sank off the Egyptian coast on Monday, local media reported. The accident occurred near the resort of Marsa Alam. The boat made a distress call around 5:30 a.m., local authorities say.

Why was the boat traveling? The passengers are said to have been on a diving trip lasting several days. The boat tour is offered by Liveaboard.com. The provider can be reached by phone in 20 minutes. “We are aware of the incident in Egypt, but cannot provide any further information about it at the moment,” it simply says. According to Hanafi, the boat left Port Ghalib yesterday and was due to arrive further north in Hurghada on Friday.

What is known about the ill-fated boat? The “Sea Story” is a motor yacht that is only two years old and has cabins for more than 30 passengers. Travel providers advertise them as boats for multi-day diving excursions in the Red Sea.

What information is there about the cause? After the rescue, a crew member said, according to Le Matin, that the boat had been “hit by a wave in the middle of the night” and that the boat had then tipped to the side. There is still no official information about the cause of the accident.

What was the weather like? Authorities in Hurghada closed the city’s port and suspended shipping traffic on Sunday due to “bad weather conditions.” However, the weather conditions were good near Marsa Alam, said the diving center manager. On Saturday, the Egyptian Meteorological Agency warned of maritime activity on Sunday and Monday. The wind speeds were between 60 and 70 km/h and the wave height reached three to four meters.

The Swiss Mario Della Torre also reports that diving boats have not been allowed to leave Hurghada since yesterday. “It’s extremely windy at the moment. A German diving station told us that the authorities were being extra careful after the accident this morning and the one in the spring. He doesn’t know what it looks like further south at the scene of the accident in Marsa Alam or what happened to boats that were already on the road at the time of the ban.

What is known about the tourists affected? Four tourists from Germany were among the passengers. The region’s governor, Major General Amr Hanafi, told the German Press Agency. There were also around 20 holidaymakers from other European countries on board, as well as tourists from China, the USA and Egypt. 28 of them were saved. According to the Egyptian authorities, 17 people are currently missing, and according to the Foreign Office there are several Germans among them.

Were there any Swiss on board? The FDFA confirmed to 20 Minutes that two Swiss nationals were on board the boat at the time of the accident. One person was rescued uninjured, the second person is still missing. For reasons of data and personal protection, no further information will be provided.

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