Three Britons missing after boat bursts into flames in the Egyptian Red Sea
11 June 2023, 12:20 | Updated: 11 June 2023, 14:31
Three Britons are missing after the boat they were travelling in burst into flames off the coast of Egypt.
The Foreign Office has said it is supporting British nationals after the incident, which saw a dive boat engulfed in flames off the coast of Marsa Alam, in the Red Sea.
It's believed the boat was carrying 30 people at the time of the incident - 15 of which are believed to be British tourists.
Search and rescue crews are continuing to search for the missing.
"We saw smoke from the boat, it was around 9km from the beach," said Ahmed Maher, a diving manager at Marsa Shagra village, according to Reuters.
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Footage uploaded to social media appeared to show the boat almost entirely engulfed in flames, with smoke billowing from the vessel.
According to initial reports, the boat had left the Port of Ghalib on June 6 and had been scheduled to return on Sunday, June 11.
Described as a "Powerhouse of the Red Sea", the Hurricane diving vessel is believed to be owned by the Tornado Marine Fleet and costs around £1500 for a seven night trip.
The alarm was raised at around 6.30am on Sunday morning as the ship was nearing the Red Sea's Elphinstone Reef.
An FCDO spokesperson said: "We are in contact with local authorities following an incident aboard a dive boat near Marsa Alam, and are supporting British nationals involved."
Initial reports suggest the fire was the result of an electrical fault aboard the 120 ft vessel.
A spokesperson for the ship's operating company told The Mirror: "Today at 6.30 am at Elphinstone, while doing the diving briefing, [the] Hurricane caught fire.
"We do have the missing British passengers, and all others were on the Ribs [life boats] to another boat and reached the nearest land safely.
"Now, we are bringing the boat back to the marina under authority supervision."
