The Red Sea marine rescue forces on Tuesday rescued five people who were on the sunken “Sea Story” ship in Marsa Alam, including two Belgians and a Swiss, and recovered four bodies of the missing, bringing the number of those rescued to 37 people.
The search is still ongoing for seven other missing people.
The “Sea Story” ship sank during a diving trip, carrying 44 passengers, including 13 Egyptians and 31 of different nationalities – German, British, American, Polish, Belgian, Swiss, Finnish, Chinese, Slovak, Spanish and Irish.
Red Sea Governor Amr Hanafi said that the search and rescue operations for the missing resulted, on Tuesday said that seven people are still missing (two from Britain, two from Poland, two from Germany and one from Switzerland).
He assured that coordination with the armed forces and naval forces personnel continues in the search for the rest.
Medical sources in the Red Sea confirmed that nine foreign survivors were allowed to leave the Marsa Alam One Day Surgery Hospital after their health condition stabilized, while a number of Egyptian survivors from the launch crew are still receiving treatment.
Meanwhile, the Red Sea Prosecution office began investigations into the sinking, and requested papers, documents and permits for the trip and data of passengers and the crew.
The prosecution listened to testimonies of the survivors from inside the Marsa Alam Hospital, and it became clear that the last inspection by maritime safety on the sunken ship was in March, and it obtained a certificate of validity for a year, and there were no notes or technical defects.
One of the surviving foreign tourists said: “I was on the deck when things started to get worse. I felt the boat tilting sharply, and I tried to hold on to something stable, but the capsizing was very fast. I heard screams from inside the cabins, and many were unable to get out because the doors were closed and the place was filled with water.”
Another of the survivors, a British tourist, added that she tried to swim up, but the current was very strong and she felt suffocated, adding: “My floating jacket saved me and kept me on the surface until the rescue teams arrived.”
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
