Six Russian vacationers have died after a vacationer submarine sank within the Purple Sea close to the Egyptian metropolis of Hurghada.
Thirty-nine different individuals had been rescued after the vessel – the Sinbad – sank at about 10:00 native time (08:00 GMT), officers say. 9 are stated to have been injured with 4 in important situation.
Two of those that died had been kids, Russia’s Tass information company stories, citing a Russian official.
Authorities are nonetheless investigating and it’s at present not recognized what precipitated the incident.
That is the second incident involving a vacationer vessel within the Purple Sea in current months.
In November, a ship capsized close to Marsa Allam, which left 11 individuals lacking, presumed lifeless.
The vessel in query had been in operation as a vacationer submarine for a lot of years.
Sindbad Submarines, the corporate working the journeys, says its vessels take passengers on journeys to discover coral reefs close to the Hurghada shoreline.
The Purple Sea governor, Amr Hanafy, stated the 45 passengers on the Sindbad had been from Russia, India, Norway and Sweden. 5 Egyptian crew members had been additionally on board.
Mr Hanafy stated the six who died had been all Russian, however full particulars of the victims haven’t but been launched.
Two married medical doctors are amongst those that have died and their daughters stay in hospital, authorities stated.
An investigation into the incident is ongoing, however the Affiliation of Tour Operators of Russia cited in a Telegram submit the submarine hit a reef and subsequently misplaced stress whereas at a depth of 20 metres (65 ft).
The town of Hurghada is positioned to the south-east of Cairo – a vacationer vacation spot which is thought each for its seashores and coral reefs.
Sindbad Submarines’ web site says its excursions enable passengers to journey 25 metres (82 ft) underwater.
Dr James Aldridge from Bristol took the identical journey on the submarine in February 2025. He informed the BBC: “The sub was well-maintained and was as proven within the promotional pictures.
“Recent paint, fashionable gear and with attentive {and professional} English-speaking workers (together with two divers to accompany you down).”
He defined passengers listened to a security briefing, which had been recorded in a number of languages, and stated that life jackets weren’t issued.
“We toured the reef for 40 minutes. For the primary 20 I used to be dealing with the reef, the sub by no means strayed ‘too shut’ and I by no means felt unsafe. For the return journey, I used to be dealing with the ocean,” he added.
