In Egypt’s Red Sea, a crew on a sightseeing submarine tour managed to escape when the vessel began sinking — even though some of the tourists on board were not so lucky.
As the BBC reports, authorities are questioning the crew of the Sindbad submarine after it foundered during a coral reef tour near the beach town of Hurghada in southeastern Egypt.
Of the 45 passengers on board the vessel, six tourists — including two children — died during the sinking, and nine more were injured. When authorities came to rescue the sinking sub, 39 people and five crew members were saved, the report notes. Two of the tourists who died were a married couple of doctors, and their daughters, devastatingly, are in the hospital in critical condition.
According to statements from Red Sea governor Amr Hanafy, the Sindbad’s crew were all Egyptian and its passengers hailed from India, Norway, Sweden, and Russia. Somehow, only Russians died during the incident, and it remains unclear what happened.
Unlike the Oceangate debacle from nearly two years ago, the Sindbad Submarines company seemingly had a strong reputation, and had been in operation in the Red Sea resort town for years. According to Hanafy, the sub was licensed and its head crew member had gotten all the right certificates to operate it — which makes the tragic incident all the stranger.
Tragically, this is not the first maritime tragedy to strike the Red Sea in recent months.
In late November, the BBC notes, the “Sea Story” tourist yacht capsized with more than 40 people on board while sailing near the resort town of Marsa Alam located about 200 miles up the coast from Hurghada. As Dive Magazine noted, it took 36 hours to rescue the yacht’s surviving passengers, and four bodies were pulled from the wrecked yacht. Seven are still missing, and presumed dead.
Between the orca attacks and the headlines about ships and subs sinking, it’s a wonder that anyone who doesn’t have to is taking to the sea — but then again, flying’s not much better lately, either.
More on seafaring: Dolphins Appear as Astronauts Splash Down in Ocean
