Egyptian Dive Boat Sinks in Rough Weather, Leaving 16 Missing

On Monday, rough weather caused a large dive boat to capsize off Egypt's Red Sea coast, leaving more than a dozen people missing, according to local authorities. 

The dive excursion vessel Sea Story got under way on Saturday with 13 crewmembers and 31 passengers aboard, headed out for a multi-night dive trip off Wadi el Gemal National Park. Rough weather was in the forecast for Sunday night. At about 0530 hours on Monday, Sea Story encountered an unusually high wave, according to Egypt's Red Sea Governate. It issued a distress call, then sank. 28 people were rescued from the water by first responders, including the Egyptian Navy vessel El Fateh. 

16 people - including 12 foreigners - remain missing, and search and rescue operations are under way. Though the nationalities of the missing were not disclosed, the vessel had people from a dozen nations on board at the time of the casualty, including Americans, Britons and Chinese nationals. 

The outlook for further rescues is mixed, according to regional governor Amr Hanafi. In a statement, he reported that some of the passengers were likely trapped in their cabins when the vessel went down. 

The search effort was paused for the night at 1700 hours local time on Monday. 

Sea Story was a 150-foot dive vessel built in 2022 and registered in Egypt. It was wooden-hulled, and equipped with dive compressors, a nitrox system, and 18 accommodations cabins for up to 36 guests. It was the largest of the local operator's three-vessel fleet, all based out of Hurghada. 

The sinking was the latest in a string of dive boat casualties involving foreign tourists off Egypt's Red Sea coast, a popular destination for recreational divers. The Sea Story was the third sinking since June, and at least the fourth serious accident in less than two years. In June 2023, three UK nationals died in a fire aboard the Egyptian dive boat Hurricane near Elphinstone Reef, off Marsa Alam.