A diver rescued his nephew from a yacht that sank in Egypt, while the search continues for seven missing people.
Two British tourists are still missing after a strange wave hit the cruise ship on Monday morning, causing it to capsize.
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Khattab Al-Faramawi said that a team of divers who were with him dived 12 meters underwater to reach the Sea Story tourist boat and find the cabins.
He told the BBC: “We were using torchlights to try to find our way in the dark, and it was a very complicated task.”
Khattab's nephew was on the boat when it sank and it was not known if he survived when the search began.
But Youssef (23 years old) survived and was locked in one of the rooms while trying to help people escape.
Hossam, Khattab’s brother, said that he broke down in tears when he learned that his son was alive.
He said: “I could not tell his mother what happened to the boat. She would have died immediately. I did not tell her until I realized that he had survived.”
“I could do nothing but pray to God to help my son, and fortunately his uncle finally saved him.”
Youssef is currently in the hospital receiving treatment after being trapped on the ship for 24 hours.
About 33 of the 44 people on board the ship have been found so far, thanks to rescue efforts led by the Egyptian Navy.
Four bodies were recovered from the sunken wreckage.
One of the five survivors found by rescue teams said it was “good to be back” after his 36-hour ordeal.
The rescued Belgian citizen smiled, wrapped in a blanket, saying: “It was wonderful to return, very beautiful.”
“Yes, I really appreciate that,” he added [the rescue efforts].
“Reception is on [the] A boat with a warm shower, dinner afterwards and all the care they received because we were shivering [the] “It was cold and they kept us warm.”
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Among the seven missing people are two Britons, two Polish tourists, and a tourist from Finland.
The tragedy occurred on Monday when the yacht Sea Story left the port of Porto Ghalib on a multi-day diving trip, heading south towards Marsa Alam with 44 people on board.
At approximately 5:30 a.m. local time, a crew member sent a distress signal from the boat before suddenly falling off the radar and losing contact entirely.
One of the rescued British tourists said the sky was black when the deadly wave hit.
The stricken yacht took just five minutes to sink after witnesses described seeing an “abnormally large” wave hit the boat before it capsized.
The survivors said they heard the screams of the trapped tourists from inside their rooms.
A British tourist said: “I was on the roof when things started to go wrong. I felt the boat tilting violently, and I tried to hold on to something stable, but the capsize was too fast.
“I heard screaming from inside the cabins, but many were unable to get out because the doors were closed and the place was filled with water.”
The boat was on the water despite authorities in the region closing activities and the city's port on Sunday due to “bad weather conditions.”
Egyptian meteorologists expected waves to reach 10-13 feet in height in the Red Sea before Sea Story departs.
Previous Dive Pro tragedies
Written by Georgie English
The Dive Pro Liveaboard company that used the Egyptian yacht that sank in the Red Sea has been involved in two other serious incidents in the past three years.
In April 2022, Dive Pro Liveaboard was the primary operator of the Scuba Scene yacht that caught fire while in the Red Sea.
Nineteen guests, three dive guides and 14 crew members were forced to evacuate the burning boat.
The ship was seen slowly sinking to the bottom of the sea as the tourist's belongings were lost in the water forever.
Two years later, a second fire broke out on board the Dive Pro Liveaboard ship.
In February this year, the boat known as Sea Legend was left badly charred after a fire broke out on its deck before it began to sink.
31 people traveling on the luxury liner were evacuated in an emergency.
Eyewitnesses believe that the smell of smoke woke the guests after a fire broke out in the kitchen area.
It quickly spread across the boat, leading to the crew ordering all passengers to disembark within 10 minutes of the first fire appearing.
Several shaken guests later complained about the safety protocols in place.
They claimed that the smoke and fire alarms were not working and that the boat did not have enough life jackets on board.
They said the emergency flare was never signaled despite the obvious danger felt by guests.
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