A tourist submarine sank Thursday during a routine underwater tourism tour off the coast of Hurghada, a popular city of the Red Station in Egypt, killing at least six Russian nationals on board.
The ship, which belongs to a private tourism company, Sindbad, was designed to take tourists underwater to see coral reefs and marine life – a major attraction in the region.
According to reports, the ship sank about 1 kilometer (0.6 thousand) off Hurghada, Egypt.
Despite the crew’s efforts to surface and evacuate the passengers, the ship quickly sank around 10 a.m. (8:00 a.m. GMT).
Who was on board?
The submarine was carrying a total of 50 people – 45 tourists and 5 Egyptian crew members – at the time of the incident, said the governor of the Red Sea Amr Hanafi in a statement.
The Russia Consulate in Hurghada also confirmed that the submarine was carrying 45 tourists.
Among the tourists were nationals of Russia, Norway, Sweden and India.
Who died in the incident and people are missing?
Six people died, including four adults and two children, who were all identified as Russian nationals by Hanafi.
The authorities did not publish all their names while waiting for the notification of relatives, but the Russian media confirmed that the victims understood members of the same family who had a vacation in Egypt.
Egyptian officials suggested that a married couple were also one of those who died.
All 39 tourists and five remaining crew members were rescued – no one has disappeared.
But among them, 29 people were injured. While most injuries have been classified as non -threatening life, such as bruises, cuts and light hypothermia, four individuals remain in critical condition and are in the intensive care unit, according to Hanafi.
Why did the submarine flow?
Neither the Egyptian nor Russian officials assigned any specific reason for the shipwreck of the ship, and the investigations continue.
But the association of Russian tour operators posted on Telegram that the submarine had struck a reef while about 20 m (65 feet) below the surface of the sea and then started to lose pressure.
The water goes from high pressure to low pressure regions, so if the interior of the ship lost the pressure, the probability of flooding sea water would have increased.
What do the survivors say?
According to the survivors, that’s exactly what happened. While the water flooded the ship, the passengers scrambled to reach the surface.
Elena Boldareva said the submarine started diving with open hatches, according to the British newspaper Daily Mirror.
People have saved as they could, said Boldareva, adding: “Some have managed to swim, others did not do it.”
Boldareva and her husband managed to swim, but her daughter and mother were taken to hospital in serious condition.
They were among the dozens transferred to the General Hospital of Hurghada for treatment and a new observation.
How did the authorities replied?
Egyptian authorities responded quickly to the incident, launching an emergency research and rescue led by the Red Sea governorate and Egyptian coast guard. Divers were sent to the site per hour, and several boats helped bring the survivors to the ground.
Hanafi said that the submarine had all the required licenses and adopted technical inspections, and that investigations with crew members were underway to determine the cause of the sinking.
Does underwater tourism rise?
Sindbad submarines are part of an expansion underwater tourism industry around the world. The industry, which focuses on scuba diving and underwater exploration of reefs-including in submarines and submersibles-has been estimated to be worth $ 36 billion in 2017And we think it has only developed since then.
A series of companies today announce underwater visits to submarines and submersibles-submarine ships that need a larger platform to transport them.
But some experts have warned that industry regulations are struggling to follow its growth.
In June 2023, the Titan, a private submersible, disappeared off the Côtes de New-Neuve, in Canada, with five people on board. They included four tourists and the founder of Oceangate, the company owner of the ship. The debris of the submersible were found four days later, and the investigators concluded that the ship had imploded, killing the five people.
What happens next?
The incident aroused concerns about tourism safety standards in Egypt, in particular for popular Red Sea excursions such as diving, snorkel and underwater visits.
Many tourist companies have stopped or limited travel to the Red Sea due to the dangers of conflicts in the region.
Sindbad submarines, which operate two tourist submarines from Hurghada, have not yet made a statement on the incident. The website was temporarily decreasing but seems to be operational.
According to the website, submarines are designed in Finland to maintain underwater pressure up to 75 meters (246 feet), “ensure safety and reliability”.
“In an emergency, oxygen masks are located above and with life vests under the seats,” says the website.
