Tourist submarine in Hurghada dropped: six Russians dead

An excursion to a coral reef has been fatal for at least six vacationers in Egypt. A submarine that tourists in the Red Sea showed the underwater world in the morning in front of the resort city of Hurghada. At least 29 survivors were saved, said rescue workers on site of the German press agency. Accordingly, there were also nine injuries.

According to the emergency services, 44 passengers were on board. According to the Russian Consul General in Hurghada, Viktor Woropayev, they were all Russian tourists. He confirmed five deaths of the state Russian news agency TASS, including two minors. For the time being, there was no information about the nationality of those affected by the Egyptian authorities.

Report: panic broke out

The cause of the accident has also been unclear. Russian media reported, citing eyewitnesses, a collision of the boat with an approximately 25 meter deep coral reef. According to a report by the Russian Telegram Canal Shot, panic then broke out on board because water had been pressed into the interior of the submarine and started to decrease. There had been wrangling because parents had tried to save their children.

Because of the high water pressure, people would have lost orientation. Another tourist ship came to the aid. Holidaymakers had pulled people out of the water in distress, Shot described. According to Egyptian media reports, 21 ambulances were involved in the rescue operations.

Second misfortune within around four months

It was only last November that a vacationer boat with more than 40 people had also dropped on board in the Red Sea in front of Egypt. Six deaths were recovered, five people were missing – including two Germans. At that time it was the motor yacht « Sea Story », which brought tourists to diving sites in the Red Sea.

U-boat trips for tourists are usually subject to high security requirements. But that doesn’t always help. The diving boat « Titan », which broke apart, was broken, certified, certified or officially approved by no authority or institution on a tour to the « Titanic » wreck in the North Atlantic in 2023. In the accident that made headlines worldwide, all five people died on board.

An advertising video about the Sindbad submarine:

The organizer of the now affected tours in Egypt has two 14 submarines worldwide, which are used for tourist purposes. Holidaymakers can therefore dive 25 meters deep into the underwater world in front of Hurghada and observe corals and other sea creatures through the portholes. According to the organizer, the submarines offer space for 44 passengers and the crew. The boats in Finland were built. They are designed in such a way that they could withstand an underwater pressure to a depth of 75 meters.

Hurghada popular with Russian vacationers

Egypt’s red-sea coast and especially Hurghada is popular with vacationers from all over the world. At the tour operator TUI, Egypt is the third most popular travel destination in the Easter holidays. 13 percent of vacationers spend their vacation there, as the company announced last Friday.

For Russians, too, Egypt is one of the most important holiday destinations – since the travel restrictions introduced in the course of the Moscow attack war against Ukraine in the EU. Hurghada can be reached from various cities in Russia with direct flights. Excursions with diving boats to the coral reefs in the Red Sea, where swarms of different fish can be observed, are among the most popular activities. Many hotels advertise their guests with an unforgettable experience.

In 2012, the large ship’s gaps in Europe with tourists on board included the accident of the cruise ship « Costa Concordia », whose captain had driven too close to the Italian coast and rammed a rock. 32 people died. In 2019, a boat trip to the Vulcan Island White Island in front of New Zealand cost 22 people. The boats had taken off, although the Whakaari volcano showed increased activity. A short time later he broke out, among other things, people died of the hot ash.