The submarine, carrying 45 tourists, sank about half a mile off the coast
of Egypt.
At least six tourists were killed Thursday when a submarine sank off Egypt’s
Red Sea coast, according to Egyptian officials. At least five Russian tourists
died, according to Russian officials in Egypt.
The governor of Egypt’s Red Sea region, Maj. Gen.. According to Amr Hanafy,
the vessel was carrying 50 individuals, including five Egyptian crew members
and 45 passengers. He added that Russians, Indians, Norwegians, Swedes, and
others were among the passengers. The submarine was making a routine excursion to
observe coral reefs, according to a statement from the Russian embassy. The
embassy had previously stated that all of the people on board were tourists
from Russia. Hanafy stated that 39 passengers were rescued by coast-based
emergency personnel. Of those, 14 were hospitalized and 24 were returned to
their hotels, according to the Russian news agency RIA Novosti. Several
Egyptians and Indians were also hospitalized, the agency reported.
The cause of the sinking is still unclear. The submarine sank about half a
mile off the shore of the Egyptian resort town of Hurghada at 10 a.m. local
time. The vessel, called Sindbad, was chartered by a resort of the same name.
A website for the Sindbad submarine experience boasts, “There are only 14
real recreational submarines in the world,” and Sindbad operates two of them.
Trips last three hours and reach a maximum depth of about 82 feet. The company
did not respond immediately to a request for comment.
Egypt is a popular tourist destination for Russians, with more than a
million Russian tourists visiting the country every year over the past few
years.
The Red Sea has become a focal point of heightened regional tensions amid
strikes on shipping by Yemen’s Houthi rebels, which have prompted an
international response, including U.S. strikes on Yemen. Houthi attacks have
targeted commercial shipping and Israel, not tourist vessels just off Egypt’s
shore.
