By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
CAIRO (Worthy News) – Egyptian authorities confirmed Monday that at least 16 people are missing, including foreigners, and 28 have been rescued after a tourist boat sank in the Red Sea.
The boat Sea Story was carrying 44 people, including 31 tourists of varying nationalities and 13 crew on a multi-day diving trip, sank Monday near the town of Marsa Alam, the Red Sea Governorate said.
Authorities did not indicate the possible cause of the incident and added that people onboard suggested that a wave hit the boat and caused it to capsize.
Weather forecasters had reportedly warned against marine activities for Sunday and Monday.
Red Sea Governor Amr Hanafi said that preliminary reports suggested a sudden large wave struck the boat, capsizing it within 5-7 minutes. “Some passengers were in their cabins, which is why they were unable to escape,” he added in the statement.
DISTRESS CALL
The governorate said the boat’s distress call was received at 5:30 a.m. local time. It had departed Sunday from Porto Ghalib in Marsa Alam, a tourist town in the south-eastern located on the western shore of the Red Sea.
Worthy News established that the crew had planned to return to Hurghada Marina, the coastal capital of the Red Sea Governorate of Egypt, on November 29.
It was unclear why the boat had left despite apparently meteorological warnings, which added to concerns about safety precautions surrounding marine activities in Egypt.
In 2023, three British tourists went missing, and 12 were rescued after a motor boat caught fire off Marsa Alam.
The year 2016 saw one of the worst sea disasters in Egypt when a boat carrying about 600 migrants sank in the Mediterranean, killing at least 170 people. At that time, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said, “Egyptians must join hands with the government” to prevent a repeat of such a tragedy.
Copyright 1999-2025 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
Latest News from Worthy News
The Federal Reserve on Wednesday lowered interest rates for the first time in nine months, citing signs of a cooling labor market and persistent uncertainty in the U.S. economy.
Several nations have threatened to boycott the world’s largest televised song competition if Israel participates.
Suspected Islamist gunmen on motorbikes have killed at least 22 people in Niger, including about 15 at a baptism ceremony and seven more nearby, officials and witnesses said. In neighboring Nigeria, a Christian farmer in the Abuja area separately told Worthy News he miraculously escaped armed men raiding his land.
At least nine people have died in Pakistan’s Punjab province when a rescue boat capsized during flood relief efforts, authorities confirmed over the weekend amid massive death and destruction that also impacted the Islamic nation’s tiny Christian minority.
The U.S. Department of State on Wednesday announced the designation of four Iran-backed militias as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs), escalating pressure on Tehran and its network of proxies across the Middle East.
Israel on Wednesday announced that its long-awaited laser air defense system, known as the “Iron Beam,” is now fully operational following a series of advanced tests. The Defense Ministry and developer Rafael Advanced Defense Systems said the first batteries will be delivered to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) by the end of the year, marking a historic first for military technology worldwide.
Iran erupted in protests overnight as thousands took to the streets to mark the third anniversary of Mahsa Amini’s death, the young Kurdish woman killed in custody by the regime’s morality police after refusing to wear a hijab.