The five passengers found alive on Tuesday following the sinking of the Egyptian Red Sea liveaboard Sea Story were found in their cabins, according to one of the men involved in rescuing them.
The bodies of the four divers recovered on Tuesday were also found trapped inside the vessel, which capsized on the morning of Monday, 25 November after being blown over by strong winds during the night.
The survivors spent more than 24 hours trapped in cold water and complete darkness in their cabins, surviving by breathing from small pockets of trapped air, reportedly as little as 20cm in size.
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One of the Egyptian divers involved in the rescue operation described how his team was able to locate the missing passengers.
In an interview with the BBC, rescue diver Khattab al-Faramawy said that the team ‘dived 12m (40ft) under the water. We were using torches to find our way into the darkness.’
Mr al-Faramawy’s 23-year-old nephew – who was one of the dive guides on board the stricken vessel – was also found alive during the rescue.
‘It was quite a complicated mission,’ he said, adding that his nephew ‘was trying to save the passengers but got locked in one of the cabins.’
Sea Story left Port Ghalib in Marsa Alam with 31 passengers and 13 crew on Sunday 24 November for a five-day liveaboard trip scheduled to finish in Hurghada on Friday 29. It issued a distress call at 5.30 am on Monday morning before all communication was lost.
The boat is believed to have sunk ‘within five to seven minutes’ after being hit by a strong wave, according to Red Sea Governor, Major General Amr Hanafi.
The Egyptian Meteorological Authority had issued warnings of strong winds prior to the vessel’s departure, although conditions had reportedly eased by the time Sea Story set sail.
As the Egpytian Navy-led search for the missing divers enters its fourth day, 33 people have been rescued and four bodies recovered, but seven people remain missing.
Egyptian authorities have not provided details about any of the passengers so far rescued, nor those who have died or are still missing.
It is believed, however, that two British and two Polish divers are among the seven passengers still unaccounted for.
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