Several tourists are reportedly missing after a cruise boat sank off the Egyptian coast near Shaab Satayah, a coral reef popular for diving trips, off the tourist resort of Marsa Alam on Monday morning.
Named Sea Story, the boat had gone on a diving trip with 31 tourists inside from the port of Ghalib in Marsa Alam on Sunday November 24.
It was scheduled to arrive at Hurghada Marina on November 29 but on Monday morning November 25, the 14 crew members lost signal and went off radar and sent a distress signal at 5.30am
According to the Red Sea governor Amr Hanafy, rescuers were able to locate the boat and rescued some of the tourists in the Ghadeer area of Wai El Gemal, but several others are still missing.
The rescued ones were flown back to shore to receive medical care while the search operation involving the Egyptian navy is ongoing and a helicopter has been deployed to scour the area.
However, the rescue operation has been difficult due to the harsh weather and the vast search area reportedly made the search more difficult.