EGYPTIAN authorities said 17 people including foreigners were missing after a tourist yacht capsized off the country’s Red Sea coast on Monday, with 28 others rescued.
The vessel, which was carrying 31 tourists of various nationalities and a 14-member crew, sent out a distress signal at 5:30 am (0330 GMT), said a statement from Egypt’s Red Sea governorate.
The Sea Story embarked on Sunday on a multi-day diving trip from Port Ghalib near Marsa Alam in Egypt’s southeast, and was due to dock on Friday in the town of Hurghada, 200 kilometres (124 miles) north.
Governor Amr Hanafi said that some survivors were rescued by an aircraft, while others were transported to safety aboard a warship.
“Intensive search operations are underway in coordination with the navy and the armed forces,” Hanafi added in a statement.
The Chinese embassy in Egypt said Monday two of its nationals were “in good health” after being “rescued in the cruise ship sinking accident in the Red Sea”, Chinese state media reported.
Polish foreign ministry spokesman Pawel Wronski said authorities “have information that two of the tourists may have had Polish citizenship”.
“That’s all we know about them. That’s all we can say for now,” he told national news agency PAP.
The Red Sea governor’s office did not immediately respond to AFP’s request for comment on the possible cause of the accident.
According to a manager of a diving resort close to the rescue operations, one surviving crew member said they were “hit by a wave in the middle of the night, throwing the vessel on its side”.
