Latest
BOAT INFERNO
Three Brits missing after boat carrying tourists bursts into flames in Egypt
THREE British tourists are missing after a boat burst into flames in the Egyptian Red Sea.
Horror footage shows the vessel engulfed in flames as huge plumes of black smoke filled the sky.
3
3
3
Authorities in Egypt said a fire broke out this morning while the luxury boat was on a cruise in the Red Sea for a planned scuba diving trip.
Terrifying footage showed the cruiser's stern totally filled with flames as black smoke spewed out.
Rescue services were immediately alerted to the fire after reports the boat - called the Hurricane - had caught alight from an electric circuit in the engine room.
Egypt's Red Sea Governate said 12 crew members and 12 British tourists were rescued off the southern Red Sea resort town of Marsa Alam.
READ MORE WORLD NEWS
Cops said the crew rescued suffered no injuries and were taken to shore in good health.
The search for the remaining three tourists - who authorities say are from the UK - is ongoing.
A spokesman for Tornado Marine Fleet, the company that owns the boat, said: "Today at 6.30am at Elphinstone, while doing the diving briefing, Hurricane caught fire.
"We do have three missing British passengers and all others (have) reached the nearest land safely.
Most read in The Sun
"Now we are bringing the boat back to the marina under authority supervision."
The boat left from Port Ghalib in the eastern city of Marsa Alam on June 6 and was due to return home today.
Ahmed Maher, a diving manager at Marsa Shagra village, said: "We saw smoke from the boat, it was around 9km from the beach.
"A nearby boat rescued them and dropped them off."
Those rescued from the water were brought to safety in the nearby diving resort of Marsa Shagra.
Following an initial examination of the vessel, Egyptian authorities said, the blaze was caused by an electrical short circuit in the boat's engine room.
The Foreign Office is supporting Brits involved in the incident.
A spokesman said: "We are in contact with local authorities following an incident aboard a dive boat near Marsa Alam, and are supporting British nationals involved."
Fatal boat accidents are uncommon in Egypt.
In 2021 a boat capsized in a lake near Egypt's Mediterranean city of Alexandria, leaving at least five people dead, including three children.
In 1991, the Egyptian ferry, Salem Express sailing from Saudi Arabia to Egypt sank killing as many as 471 people, mostly Muslim pilgrims.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
Egypt's Red Sea resorts harbor some of the country's most renowned beach destinations and are popular with European holiday goers.
It has cemented its reputation as a dive destination with easy access to coral reefs from shores and dive sites offering diverse marine life.
Topics