Three British tourists are missing after a scuba diving boat they were cruising in caught fire off Egypt’s Red Sea coastline on Sunday, authorities have said.
A further 12 British nationals were rescued along with 12 Egyptian crew members and were brought to safety in the nearby diving resort of Marsa Shagra, about 21km (13 miles) north of the town of Marsa Alam, according to a statement from the Red Sea State governor’s office and security sources.
The fire was caused by an electrical short circuit on the boat, which was named Hurricane and had been used for a trip since 6 June in an area just north of Marsa Alam, the statement said.
A search party was launched to find the remaining three British tourists, whose identities were not revealed.
Images posted on social media showed a white motor yacht with the same name on fire at sea, with thick smoke billowing into the sky.
“We saw smoke from the boat, it was around 9km from the beach,” said Ahmed Maher, a diving manager at Marsa Shagra village. “A nearby boat rescued them and dropped them off.”
Britain’s Foreign Office said it was in contact with local authorities about the incident and supporting nationals involved.
Fatal boat accidents are uncommon in Egypt. In 2021 a boat capsized in a lake near the city of Alexandria, leaving at least five people dead, including three children.
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In 1991, the Egyptian ferry Salem Express – sailing from Saudi Arabia to Egypt – sank, killing as many as 471 people, mostly Muslim pilgrims.
Egypt’s Red Sea resorts harbour 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.
In recent years, Egypt has gone to great lengths to bolster its tourism industry, hurt by years of political instability, Covid-19 and the negative economic effect of the war in Ukraine.
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