Four people were killed Thursday when a tourist submarine sank off Egypt’s Red Sea resort city of Hurghada, according to a Facebook post by the Russian embassy in Egypt.
It is unclear if all four were Russian, but the embassy said that they were aboard a submarine that carried 45 Russian tourists.
Local Egyptian media reported earlier Thursday that six people were killed in the incident. Those killed were foreign nationals, Reuters said, citing the Hurghada governorate office.
The incident occurred at 10:00 a.m. local time Thursday, when the submarine Sindbad “crashed at a distance of 1 km from the shore,” the embassy said.
Minors were among the passengers on the submarine, which belonged to a hotel bearing the same name, but it is unclear if they are among the fatalities.
The vessel was on a regular underwater excursion to inspect the coral reef, the embassy added.
“According to initial data, most of those on board were rescued and taken to their hotels and hospitals in Hurghada,” the embassy said, adding that “the fate of several tourists is being clarified.”
“Diplomats from the Consulate General are on the pier of the Sindbad Hotel,” the embassy said.
‘Years of experience’
The operator of the submarine has an “expert team” with “years of experience,” according to its website, adding that its submarines were “engineered in Finland to sustain underwater pressure up to 75m, ensuring safety and reliability.”
In an emergency, the company says “oxygen masks are located overhead and life vests under the seats.”
Sindbad Submarines says it has two “recreational submarines” in its fleet, each of which could carry 44 passengers and two pilots with a “sizable round viewing window” for each passenger.
The vessel could reach a depth of 25 meters below sea level for 40 minutes, allowing passengers to explore “500 meters of coral reef and its marine inhabitant.”
The “spacious air-conditioned cabin” is also said to feature “comfortable seats and personal TV monitors.”
In November, at least 16 people went missing after a tourist yacht sank in the Red Sea following warnings about rough seas. At the time, it was not immediately clear what caused the four-deck, wooden-hulled motor yacht to sink.
Egypt’s tourism economy is among its key sources of revenue.
This is a developing story and will be updated.