Four bodies were recovered and five survivors rescued from the water 24 hours after a yacht sank in the Red Sea when it got caught in rough weather.
The number of survivors now stands at 33 – including 28 who were rescued on Monday – with seven people still missing amid a major search operation led by Egyptian naval forces.
Two Brits among the 16 people originally missing on Monday have not yet been accounted for.
Sea Story, a live-aboard boat which was carrying 44 people on a five-day diving trip, sent a distress signal after a large wave crashed into the boat and caused it to capsize, according to survivors’ accounts of what happened.
Some of those on the boat, which was carrying 31 tourists and 13 crew members, were inside the cabins when the boat capsized within just minutes.
The governor of Egypt’s Red Sea region, Amr Hanafi, said the five survivors rescued on Tuesday included two Belgians, an Egyptian, a Swiss national and a Finnish national. It is unclear how they survived through the night, but the Red Sea’s temperature may have been warm enough to survive if they had a means of floating.
Mr Hanafi said the four bodies recovered on Tuesday are yet to be identified.
The boat was carrying 13 Egyptians and 31 foreign nationals from the United Kingdom, United States, Germany, Poland, Belgium, Switzerland, Finland, China, Slovakia, Spain and Ireland.
Ireland’s foreign minister Micheál Martin said an Irish citizen who was on board the Sea Story was rescued. “My understanding is that an Irish citizen is OK and receiving consular assistance from the Department of Foreign Affairs,” he told reporters in Dublin on Tuesday morning, according to RTE.
The German foreign ministry said on Tuesday that three Germans remained missing while three others were rescued. Meanwhile, a spokesman for Poland’s Foreign Ministry said two Polish nationals were missing and that their families have been notified.
Sea Story, which is operated by Dive Pro Liveaboard, was scheduled to dock in Hurghada five days after leaving Port Ghalib in Marsa Alam on Sunday. According to Mr Hanafi, it sank 46 nautical miles away from Marsa Alam, a popular tourist town.
The boat, which can hold 36 passengers and had space for 50 people on emergency escape vessels, did not have any technical issues and had all the necessary permits before the trip. It last underwent a safety check in March.
On Saturday, the Egyptian Meteorological Authority warned of rough sea conditions and advised against maritime activity on Sunday and Monday.