Eight people are still missing
The four deaths have not yet been identified and eight people are still missing. “Rescue operations continue today, with the support of a military helicopter and a frigate as well as several divers,” Amr Hanafi said. The boat was carrying 31 tourists of different nationalities as well as 13 crew members, when it was hit by a large wave early Monday which caused it to capsize near Marsa Alam in southeastern Egypt.
The Sea Story left Port Ghalib, near Marsa Alam, on Sunday for a multi-day diving expedition. He was due to reach Hurghada, 200 kilometers further north, on Friday. The governor of the Red Sea region said Monday that the boat sank within 5 to 7 minutes after being hit by the wave. Some passengers – including European, Chinese and American tourists – were unable to get out of their cabins in time.
Army rescuers and a passing tourist boat rescued 28 people on Monday. According to a hospital source in Marsa Alam, six tourists and three Egyptians were admitted with minor injuries and discharged from the hospital the same day. Among these tourists are “two Germans, two British, a Spaniard and a Swiss,” the hospital administrator told AFP on condition of anonymity.
According to the Red Sea Governor’s Office, the boat was carrying tourists from Belgium, the United Kingdom, China, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Poland, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland and the United States. Among the missing are two Polish tourists and two Finns, according to the foreign ministries of the two countries.
A third accident which questions safety standards
Authorities said the boat was fully approved and had passed all checks. A preliminary investigation revealed no technical faults. Monday’s accident is at least the third of its kind reported this year near Marsa Alam. The tourism sector contributes more than 10% of Egypt’s GDP, where the Red Sea, one of the country’s main tourist destinations, attracts millions of visitors each year.
To go further
Quota, tax, “demarketing”: these solutions to overtourism tested by the facts
Published on July 3, 2024 at 3:24 p.m. / Modified on September 25, 2024 at 4:41 p.m.
Whether in Switzerland or the rest of Europe, mass tourism affects both the environment and local populations. Touch the wallet, limit access or choose your tourists better: the range of solutions is growing, but offers very uneven results.
Every day, dozens of dive boats explore the coral reefs and islands off Egypt’s eastern coast, where strict safety rules are unevenly enforced. In early November, 30 people were rescued when a dive boat sank near the famous Deadalus Reef.
Last June, around twenty French tourists were evacuated unharmed before their boat sank in a similar accident. A year earlier, three British tourists lost their lives when a fire burned their yacht to ashes.
