6 die after submarine sinks off Egyptian coast

Cairo: Six people died and nine were injured when a tourist submarine carrying 45 passengers sank off the Egyptian coast Thursday, said provincial officials. They were speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to brief the media.

Emergency crews were able to rescue at least 38 Russians, the Russian consul in Hurghada told the country’s state news agency RIA Novosti. The report said 14 of them were hospitalised and the rest returned to their hotel. In addition to crew members, there were 45 passengers on board, all of them Russian and some of them minors, Russian consular officials in Hurghada said. It is unclear how many crew members were on board.

The submarine, which belonged to the Sindbad hotel in Hurghada, was out on a regular tour to view coral reefs. It sailed off at around 10 am Thursday and sank when it was about 1 km (approximately half a mile) from the shore.

Those rescued were taken to hospitals and are in a stable condition, according to the Russian consulate.

It was not immediately clear what caused the submarine to sink. The vessel, which was operated by a Hurghada-based company called Sindbad Submarines, has 44 passenger seats, two pilot seats, and a round viewing window for each passenger, according to the company website.

In November, a tourist yacht sank in the Red Sea after warnings of rough waters, Egyptian officials said. At least four people drowned, while 33 were rescued. Tourism is an important sector of Egypt’s economy but many tourist companies have stopped or limited travelling on the Red Sea due to the dangers from conflicts in

the region.