Surviving crew of doomed Egypt yacht are grilled by cops as hopes dwindle after 3rd day of search for 2 Brits & 7 others
Police will question the remaining members of the capsized Egyptian yacht’s crew as part of a comprehensive inquiry into the incident.
Three days after the tragic Sea Story ship sank off Hurghada, rescue attempts for the seven persons still missing are underway.
Concerns are growing over the whereabouts of the seven missing individuals, two of whom are British.
There are currently 33 survivors in all, and four bodies have been found inside the wreckage.
Today, the Red Sea Governorate’s Public Prosecution Office requested an investigation into the Sea Story owner and crew.
The most recent tourists to be saved from an air pocket are seen in touching video that was made public today.
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According to a government source, they were discovered by rescuers on Tuesday morning after spending at least 24 hours inside a cabin of the capsized ship.
After the 36-hour struggle, one of the five individuals that were saved grinned and remarked, “It’s nice to be back.”
The rescued Belgian national, wrapped in a blanket, grinned and remarked, “It was verynice to be back, verynice.”
“Yes, I really appreciate it [the rescue efforts],” he continued.
“The reception on [the] boat with a warm shower, the dinner after and all the care they took because we were shaking with [the] cold and they warmed us up.”
Two survivors were taken out on stretchers, one of whom was conscious and able to communicate. Authorities on video identified the survivor as an Egyptian.
Watch as sunken yacht survivor is rescued after being pulled from air pocket
General Hazem Khalil, the mayor of Marsa Alam, greeted a Belgian visitor with tears in her eyes.
With 44 passengers on board, the yachat sailed south towards Marsa Alam for a multi-day diving excursion from PortoGhalib Port.
Before the boat abruptly vanished from radar and lost all communication, a crew member sent out a distress signal from the vessel at approximately 5:30 am local time.
According to authorities, two Belgians, a Swiss national, a Finnish tourist, and an Egyptian were saved by military divers.
The death of one of Slovakia’s residents on Wednesday was verified by Egyptian officials, according to the country’s foreign ministry.
There were two more survivors.
Two British nationals, two Polish tourists, and one Finnish vacationer are among the seven people who have gone missing.
Some passengers were unable to flee their cabins when the boat capsized “suddenly and quickly within five-seven minutes” after being hit by a powerful wave in the middle of the night, according to Red Sea Governor Amr Hanafi.
Those who survived claimed to have heard trapped vacationers yelling from their cabins.
“I was on the surface when things started to go wrong,” one visitor stated. I attempted to cling to something solid as I sensed the boat tilting suddenly, but the capsizing happened very quickly.
“I heard screams from insidethe cabins, but many were unable to get out because the doors were closed and the place was filled with water.”
According to Egyptian authorities, the ship had a valid license and had cleared all inspections.
An first analysis revealed no technical issues.
Earlier this year, there were no fatalities from at least two comparable boat accidents in the Marsa Alam area.
The boat was last seen off Hurghada, according to the ship tracking website Marine Traffic.
Authorities in the area closed the city’s port and all activity on Sunday because of “badweatherconditions,” but the boat remained on the water.
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Before Sea Story left, Egyptian weather forecasts said the Red Sea might see waves as high as 10 to 13 feet.
The UK Foreign Office announced that “a number of British nationals and their families” are receiving support.
Previous Dive Pro tragedies
by English Georgie
In the past three years, THE Dive Pro Liveaboard company, which rented the Egyptian boat that went down in the Red Sea, has been implicated in two other major events.
Dive Pro Liveaboard was the primary operator of the Scuba Scene yacht in April 2022 when it unexpectedly caught fire in the Red Sea.
Three diving guides, fourteen crew members, and nineteen visitors were all compelled to leave the burning boat.
The tourist’s possessions were lost to the water forever, and the ship was observed gradually sinking to the ocean floor.
A second fire started on a Dive Pro Liveaboard ship two years later.
A fire on board the Sea Legend in February of this year left the vessel severely scorched before it began to sink.
In the event of an emergency, thirty-one passengers on the opulent ship were forced to leave.
According to witnesses, a fire broke out in the kitchen area, waking the visitors with the smell of smoke.
Within ten minutes of the initial flames showing, the crew ordered everyone off the boat as it quickly spread throughout the vessel.
Later, a number of the shook visitors voiced their displeasure with the safety procedures.
They said there weren’t enough life jackets on the boat and that the fire and smoke alarms weren’t functioning.
The guests claimed that despite the obvious danger they perceived, no emergency flare was ever signaled.
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