British tourists missing after boat fire in Egypt’s Red Sea

Adeyemi Adeyemi

Global Courant

Egyptian authorities say an electrical short circuit sparked a fire on a submarine carrying 15 tourists and 12 crew members near Marsa Alam.

Three British nationals are missing after a submarine they were cruising caught fire off the coast of Egypt’s Red Sea.

In a brief statement on Sunday, Egypt’s Red Sea Governorate said 12 crew members and 12 British tourists were rescued when a medium-sized submarine dubbed “Hurricane” went up in flames near the southern Red Sea resort of Marsa Alam.

- Advertisement -

“We saw smoke coming from the boat, it was about 9 km (6 miles) from the beach,” said Ahmed Maher, a dive manager in Marsa Shagra village. “A nearby boat rescued and dropped them off.”

Fatal boat accidents are rare in Egypt. In 2021, a boat capsized in a lake near the Egyptian Mediterranean city of Alexandria, killing at least five people, including three children.

In 1991, an Egyptian ferry called Salem Express – sailing from Saudi Arabia to Egypt – sank, killing as many as 471 people, mostly Muslim pilgrims.

- Advertisement -