This Monday, around 5:30 a.m., the ship Sea Story sent a distress message. He was on a diving cruise and had left the port of Porto Ghalib in Marsa Alam on November 24 and returned on November 29 to the Hurghada marina. 31 tourists had embarked on a diving excursion and there were 14 crew members.
The ship sank in the Red Sea north of Mars Alam and rescuers arrived on site and were able to rescue 28 people. But 17 are still missing.
The newspaper “Al-Masri al-Jum” gives the nationality of the passengers: there would be 2 Swiss, 4 Germans, 5 Spaniards, 2 Belgians, one Chinese, 2 Americans, 3 Slovaks, 4 British, 2 Poles, 4 Egyptians, 2 Norwegians, an Irishman and a Finn, in addition to the Egyptian crew.
The causes of the sinking of the four-deck, wooden-hulled yacht were not immediately clear. But the Egyptian meteorological authority warned on Saturday of turbulence and strong waves on the Red Sea and advised against all maritime activity on Sunday and Monday, says the AP agency. According to the testimony given to matin.ch from a French-speaking tourist present in Hurghada, a storm is indeed raging in the Red Sea and all the boats have been blocked at the port since Sunday, but visibly the Sea Story could have gone out just before or did not listen to the cautionary advice.
Some of the survivors were able to be airlifted to receive the necessary medical treatment, while the others were kept safe on site until the frigate arrived. Al-Fatehwho will transport them to a safe place.
The Sea Story was built in 2022 and can accommodate 36 passengers.
