16 missing after dive tour boat capsizes in Red Sea off Egypt

Reuters reports that 16 people have gone missing after a boat carrying more than 40 people including foreign nationals capsized and sank in the Red Sea off the coast of Egypt on Monday, November 25.

Local officials said that the crew of the dive tour boat Sea Story sent out a distress call at around 05:30 local time on Monday, prompting the Egyptian military to deploy vessels and aircraft to conduct search and rescue (SAR) operations off the town of Marsa Alam.

An official confirmed that 28 of the boat's occupants were safely rescued with mostly minor injuries that do not require hospitalisation. However, a number of passengers had reportedly become trapped inside their cabins and were unable to escape as the vessel sank.

The Egyptian government is collaborating with the embassies and consulates of the home countries of some of the foreign passengers. The identities and the nationalities of the missing occupants have not been disclosed.

Sea Story had earlier departed the resort town of Porto Ghalib near Marsa Alam and was sailing on a multi-day diving trip when it capsized.