A tragic incident occurred on Sunday when a scuba diving boat named Hurricane caught fire off the coast of Marsa Alam, a popular resort town in Egypt’s Red Sea. The boat was carrying 27 people, including 15 British tourists and 12 Egyptian crew members. According to Egyptian authorities, an electrical short circuit in the boat’s engine room sparked the blaze.

While 12 British tourists and 12 crew members were rescued by a nearby boat and brought to safety in Marsa Shagra, a diving village north of Marsa Alam, three British tourists remain missing. A search party has been launched to find them, but their identities have not been revealed yet. The British Foreign Office said it was in contact with the local authorities and supporting the nationals involved.

This is one of the rare fatal boat accidents in Egypt, which has a reputation as a dive destination with easy access to coral reefs and diverse marine life. The Red Sea resorts are also a major attraction for European holiday goers. Egypt’s tourism industry has been trying to recover from the impact of political instability, Covid-19 and the war in Ukraine.