The Red Sea resorts in Egypt are popular with tourists for their diving and beaches. Twelve people and 14 crew members along with 15 qualified diving enthusiasts had been on a week’s stay on board the medium sized scuba diving boat the ‘Hurricane’.
The Hurricane had been located off the Elphinstone Reef close to the south eastern Egyptian town of Marsa Alam when the boat caught fire owing to a suspected electrical fault. On the morning of the fire, the three British nationals who went missing had chosen to sleep in and not to dive. The other 12 had been attending a briefing on board when a fire broke out at 0530 GMT on 11th June.
They had been immediately evacuated by rib while two dive guides and the Captain had tried to reach the three missing passengers prior to abandoning the ship for safety the time the fire broke out and those on board managed to escape stated a spokesperson for Scuba Travel. A nearby craft had been used to evacuate the 12 divers and 14 crew members who had to abandon ship after trying to reach the missing guests, while video footage showed some jumping overboard.
On Monday, British tour operator Scuba Travel released a statement which stated that they ‘must accept that 3 of our much valued dive guests ……….. perished in the tragic incident’.
Britain’s Foreign Office said it was in contact with the local authorities regarding the incident and was supporting nationals involved.
The three British tourists who did not survive after the Hurricane burst into flames have been named as Stephen Hill, Christina Quinn and Paul Darling.
St. Luke’s Hospice Plymouth where Ms. Christina Quinn 58 had taken up her role as chief executive, paid tribute to her. She had had a long and impactful career with the NHS, most recently as director of NHS South West Leadership.
Scuba Travel said that their sincere and heartfelt condolences went out to their families and friends at this sad time. The company’s statement added that Police and local authorities will not conduct a full investigation into the cause of the fire.
