Egypt tourist boat latest: Red Sea search enters critical third day with two Britons still unaccounted for

Four bodies were recovered and five survivors rescued from the water 24 hours after a yacht sank in the Red Sea when it got caught in rough weather.

The number of survivors now stands at 33 – including 28 who were rescued on Monday – with seven people still missing amid a major search operation led by Egyptian naval forces.

Two Brits among the 16 people originally missing on Monday have not yet been accounted for.

Sea Story, a live-aboard boat which was carrying 44 people on a five-day diving trip, sent a distress signal after a large wave crashed into the boat and caused it to capsize, according to survivors’ accounts of what happened.

Read yesterday’s full report:

An oceanographer has cast doubt on the claim that a huge wage caused the Sea Story ship to sink, saying the wind conditions weren’t strong enough.

“We are getting the same story coming out, mainly from the governor of the region, saying a ‘huge wave’ hit the ship,” he told Sky News.

“There’s no evidence of that. The Egyptian Met Office did issue a storm warning, but that was for the Red Sea and the Mediterranean generally.”

The wind conditions for the region around Marsa Alarm “weren’t that strong” and “wouldn’t create these alleged three- to four-metre waves”, he added.

“I still feel that this is probably not a wave that caused the capsize. We need to see an investigation coming out of this. It’s still early days, but the information coming out from the Egyptian authorities is still very sparse.

“We don’t know where the vessel is, we don’t know, is it sunk? What depth of water is it in? The information is being filtered by the Egyptian authorities, there’s been no direct statements from people from the boat itself, it’s all been through the authorities.”

Here’s all you need to know about the boat which capsized in the Red Sea on Monday:

• Sea Story, an Egyptian-owned boat, had set sail from Porto Ghalib on a five-day diving trip, carrying 31 tourists and 13 crew.
• This was despite warnings by the Egyptian Meteorological Authority on Saturday, advising against maritime activity on Sunday and Monday.
• At 5:30am on Monday, the ship sent out a distress signal, sparking a major rescue effort led by an Egyptian navy warship El Fateh and military aircraft.
• Survivors report that the boat was hit by a huge wave. Wave heights of 3-4 meters (10-13 feet) and wind speeds of 34 knots were reported in the area on Sunday by the Egyptian Red Sea Ports Authority.
• The boat capsized within five to seven minutes. Some people were reportedly in their cabins at the time the wave hit. It sank off the popular tourist destination of Marsa Alam.
• By the end of Monday, 28 people had been rescued and 16 people remained missing, including two Brits. Tourists on the boat included nationals from the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, Poland, Belgium, Switzerland, Finland, China, Slovakia, Spain and Ireland.
• A technical defect on the boat was ruled out by the Red Sea region’s governor, Amr Hanafi, who said all the necessary safety permits had been obtained.
• Embassies from around the world confirmed on Monday that they were offering consular assistance following the incident.
• On Tuesday, four bodies were recovered and five more people were rescued, bringing the total of survivors to 33.
• As of Wednesday morning, the search for seven remaining missing people goes on.

Seven people are still missing out at sea after the Sea Story vessel capsized on Monday.

The sun has now risen on the third day of the major search, led by Egyptian naval forces, in which 33 people have been rescued and four bodies have been recovered.

The picture below was taken from the beach where survivors of the boat were brought to safety on Monday.

A survivor of the Egypt tourist yacht that sank in the Red Sea off Egypt on Monday (26 November) thanked his rescuers in an emotional exchange on Tuesday.

The Belgian tourist told officials “It’s very nice to be back” as five people were rescued alive, bringing the total number of survivors to 33.

“I really appreciate [the rescue efforts of the Egyptian military],” he added, before thanking them for his welcome onboard and the warm shower he was given after he had been “shaking with cold”.

See the full story:

The Polish foreign ministry said two Polish nationals, a man and a woman, are still missing in the Egypt boat tragedy.

Addressing reporters, spokesperson Paweł Wroński said the families of those missing have been notified.

Meanwhile, the German foreign ministry said yesterday that three Germans remain missing while three others have been rescued.

The 144-foot two-engine Sea Story vessel was built in 2022 and is registered in Safaga, Egypt, according to the boat’s owner.

Owned by tourist company Dive pro Liveaboard, the boat has space for 36 passengers and 12 crew members including a captain, cooks, waiters and sailors.

At the time it sank, it was carrying 44 people. This included 31 tourists and 13 crew members, according to the Red Sea governornate.

It carried safety jackets in each cabin and two 25-person safety rafts, according to Dive pro Liveaboard’s website.

Egyptian officials have said that the yacht that sank into the Red Sea passed its last safety inspection in March with no technical issues reported.

The vessel owned by an Egyptian national had a one-year validity certificate in March 2024 when it was inspected by maritime safety, the Red Sea governorate said.

It was 34 metres long and built in 2022 to hold 36 passengers.

It was not immediately clear what caused the four-deck, wooden-hulled motorized yacht to sink.

However, the Egyptian Red Sea Ports Authority reported that there were wave heights of 10-13 feet and wind speeds of 34 knots in the area on Sunday. It cited rescued crew members and tourists.