3 British tourists missing after boat catches fire near Egypt’s Marsa Alam

CAIRO – 12 June 2023: Three British tourists went missing off the Red Sea coast after a boat carrying 27 people caught fire near Marsa Alam resort town in eastern Egypt.

A total of 15 British tourists, 10 crew members and 2 tourist guides were on board the boat when it caught fire on Sunday, a statement by the Red Sea governorate read.

All crew members, the tourist guides and 12 of the tourists were rescued while searcch is underway for the three missing tourists, the statement said.

Initial examination indicates that an electrical short circuit in the engine room was behind the fire. The Public Prosecution is investigating the incident.

The yacht, named Hurricane, was on a safari trip from 6 to 11 June 25 kilometers north of Marsa Alam. The tourists were rescued and moved to Shajara area in Marsa Alam.

As the three tourists are still missing, relevant authorities and a number of boats are taking care of the search operations, while the Egyptian Ambulance Authority and relevant health directorate have raised the degree of preparedness, the statement added.

Meanwhile, such incidents stay rare in Egypt, especially in the Red Sea area, which is a main tourist destination in the country that relies on tourism as a major source of foreign currency.

Egypt has been keen to promote tourism amid several shocks that affected the sector over the past years, especially the coronavirus pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war.

Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Ahmed Eissa said earlier this week that Egypt received over 1.3 million tourists in April, expecting the country to receive a total of 15 million visitors by the end of the year.