Cairo, March 27 (IANS) Six people, including two minors, of Russian nationality were killed after a tourist submarine sank in the Red Sea off the coast of Egypt. The accident occurred on Thursday in the resort city of Hurghada. The vessel was carrying out an underwater tour with a coral reef inspection, according to media reports.
Russian news agency RIA Novosti quoted a statement from the Russian Consulate General in Hurghada revealing that all the tourists on board were Russians.
“There were 45 tourists on board, including minors, as well as crew members. All of them were Russian citizens, tourists of the company Biblio Globus,” the consulate’s statement read.
The diplomatic mission told RIA Novosti that after the crash of the bathyscaphe, 38 Russians were rescued, while the fate of the remaining is not yet known. The Consulate General noted that 24 people were transported to hotels, and the remaining 14 are in hospitals.
The cause of the incident is still under investigation, with the Russian Embassy stating that consular staff were dispatched to the pier of the Sindbad Hotel, which owns the submarine.
Egyptian media outlet Youm7 reported that the victims were taken to the nearest hospital in the Al-Kawther area in Hurghada and some of them remain in critical condition.
According to preliminary information, the accident occurred due to an error by the pilot of the ship. He could not cope with the control and flew to the reef. As a result, the salon depressurized. The company Sharm Hurghada Excursions, which organised the tour, told Russian newspaper Izvestia that the sunken bathyscaphe has worked for more than 10 years and is the only submarine at the disposal of the company.
Hurghada, a popular tourist city located about 460 kilometers (285 miles) southeast of Cairo, is known for its Red Sea coral reefs and islands, which attract international visitors.
–IANS
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