4 Bodies Recovered from Capsized Tourist Yacht in Red Sea, 3 People Rescued: Reports

Mar. 15, 2025

Rescuers wait on the beach for possible survivors after a boat sank at a harbor in Marsa Alam on Nov. 25.Photo:Stringer/picture alliance via Getty

Stringer/picture alliance via Getty

Four bodies have reportedly been recovered from a tourist yacht that capsized off Egypt’s Red Sea coast on Monday, Nov. 25.

The bodies were recovered from theSea Storyon the morning of Tuesday, Nov. 26, the Red Sea provincial governor, Amr Hanafi said, perBBC Newsand German outletDW News.

The governor did not share where the bodies were located on the boat.

Three people, two Belgians and one Egyptian, were also found alive Tuesday, bringing the total number of rescued passengers to 31, according to multiple outlets.

Rescuers and ambulance cars wait on the beach for possible survivors after a boat sank after departing Marsa Alam, Egypt.Stringer/picture alliance via Getty

The 14-metre boat departed from Porto Ghalib in Marsa Alam on Sunday, Nov. 24, and was due to arrive at Hurghada Marina on Friday, Nov. 29, perThe TelegraphandReuters.

A distress signal was sent out to the Red Sea governorate at approximately 5:30 a.m. local time after the 14-metre boat had departed Marsa Alam, according to the outlets.

Hanafi confirmed that the boat had passed its most recent safety inspection with no technical issues in March, per Reuters.

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An earlier report from the BBC stated there were 14 crew members onboard theSea Storywho were all Egyptian. The 31 tourists were American, British, Spanish, German, Slovakian, Swiss, Belgian, Polish, Norwegian, Irish, Finnish and Chinese nationals, according to the outlet.

It was previously reported that 28 people were immediately rescued after the incident, per multiple outlets.

According to the yacht’s makerDive Pro Liveaboard, theSea Storywas built in 2022 as a four-deck vessel and registered in Safaga, Egypt. There were life jackets stored in each cabin and two safety rafts onboard available to carry 25 people each.

Dive Pro Liveaboard did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.

A tourist who was onboard the boat told U.K. newspaperThe Sun, “It was pitch black and the water was all around us. I tried to swim up but the current was so strong I felt like I was suffocating. What saved me was my life jacket that kept me on the surface until rescue teams arrived.”

A diver who witnessed the incident while in the water also told the outlet, “I was on the surface when things started to go wrong. 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, but many were unable to get out because the doors were closed and the place was filled with water.”

source: people.com