YACHT PANIC
Two Brits ‘among 16 missing’ after tourist yacht hit by huge wave capsizes off Egypt sparking frantic rescue mission
The boat sent a distress signal before contact was lost
TWO British tourists are reportedly among 16 people missing after a luxury boat sank off the Egyptian coast.
A huge search mission was launched this morning after the Sea Story ship disappeared in the Red Sea near Marsa Alam after reportedly being hit by a wave.
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The yacht left Porto Ghalib Port for a multi-day diving trip on November 24 and was due to return to Hurghada Marina on November 29, with 45 people on board.
But at about 5:30am local time, a crew member sent out a distress signal from the boat, while it had gone out for a diving trip.
It then dropped off the radar and contact was lost.
Four Brits were on board the lost vessel, but two remain missing, according to the .
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It is unclear which of the passengers were among those rescued and which were still missing as relatives wait for news.
The yacht - carrying 31 tourists of different nationalities and 13 crew members - is believed to have sunk in the Sha’ab Sataya area.
According to the ship tracking website Marine Traffic, the last location shared by the boat was off Hurghada.
Authorities initially deployed rescue teams as well as a helicopter.
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Red Sea Governor Major General Amr Hanafy said 28 people have been rescued so far.
The governor said survivors were rescued by Egyptian Navy warship El Fateh and a tourist boat near the Sataya reef, also known as Dolphin’s House, in the Wadi el-Gemal national park area, 46 nautical miles off the coast of Marsa Alam.
Search operations to find the 16 people who remain missing have been paused for the night at 5:00pm local time (3pm GMT), according to Reuters.
The cause of this disaster has not been confirmed but a manager of a diving resort close to the rescue operations said the boat was hit by a wave in the middle of the night, according to .
This manager claimed the water was strong enough to push the vessel onto its side.
The boat had been on the water despite authorities in Hurghada shutting down activities and the city's port on Sunday due to "bad weather conditions."
Egyptian weather forecasters predicted wave heights to reach 10-13 feet in the Red Sea before Sea Story departed.
It was unclear how the tourist vessel was given permission to sail in such stormy conditions.
According to local media, four Germans, two Spaniards, two Belgians, two Americans, one Irishman, and a Finn were also on board.
The others on the trip were from China, Slovakia, Switzerland, Poland, Norway, Finland and Egypt.
It is unclear who has so far been rescued.
The Chinese embassy in Egypt declared two of its citizens were safe.
The number of missing was revised down from 17 to 16 by the governor after the number of crew thought to be aboard was reduced.
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Built in 2022, Sea Story is a 144-feet pleasure boat able to carry up to 32 passengers.
Trippers are thought to have paid £1,000 for a seven-night trip on the luxury yacht.
With 18 twin cabins, the vessel takes tourists on diving trips to explore reefs and wrecks in the Red Sea.
The Foreign Office has said it is providing support to "a number of British nationals and their families".
The Red Sea is a popular diving destination renowned for its coral reefs and marine life and is vital to Egypt’s tourism industry.
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In June last year, three British tourists died and 12 were rescued after a scuba diving boat Hurricane caught fire off off Marsa Alam.
Twelve other divers and 14 crew, including the captain, were rescued after abandoning the ship, which had set sail for the Elphinstone Reef diving spot.
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