Crew involved in deadly tourist submarine incident in Red Sea questioned by authorities
March 28 (UPI) -- The local crew of a recreational submarine that sank off the Egyptian Red Sea coast killing six Russian tourists and injuring nine other passengers have been questioned by authorities in Egypt amid an ongoing investigation into the tragedy.
The 45 tourists departed the beach resort of Hurghada aboard the purpose-built submarine with a crew of five mid-morning Thursday for a sightseeing tour of coral reefs in the waters off the popular beach resort but the vessel got into difficulties about a half mile out.
Two children and a married couple, both doctors, were among the six Russians killed. The BBC reported that the daughters of the couple were hospitalized after 39 other passengers and the five crew were rescued.
Four of those injured remain in intensive care in area hospitals in critical condition.
There was confusion over the injured with the Russian Embassy in Cairo saying seven Russian citizens, of whom five are minors, were being treated for non life-threatening injuries.
The nationalities of the other two people hurt have not been released but Red Sea governor Amr Hanafy said that nationals from India, Norway and Sweden were also on board.
The cause of the incident is under investigation but the Association of Tour Operators of Russia said the submarine collided with a reef while at a depth of 65 feet, causing an unrecoverable decompression.
Hanafy said the vessel, owned and operated by Hurghada-based Sindbad Submarines, was licensed and the commander had the required qualifications from the Academy of Science, Technology and Maritime Transport.
The two doctors killed were named as anesthesiologist Ravil Valiullin and his wife Kristina from the Republic of Tatarstan, 600 miles east of Moscow.
However, Tatarstan press spokesperson Liliya Galimova stressed it would take time to complete formal identification, warning that it remained unclear if Mrs. Valiullin had in fact been killed.
"We rely on information that comes directly from the scene, from Egypt. As we can see, the information there is constantly changing. Time is needed. We will wait for clarification," she told Russian media.
Briton, Dr. James Aldridge said that when he took a Sindbad reef tour in February it appeared to be a well-run, professional operation and that passengers received a pre-recorded multi-lingual safety briefing before embarking.
"Fresh paint, modern equipment and with attentive and professional English-speaking staff (including two divers to accompany you down)," he said.
However, he did note that life jackets were not provided.
Thursday's accident has thrown a renewed spotlight on the safety record of operators of recreational vessels in the Red Sea serving thousands of mainly scuba divers who flock there every year, many of them joining so-called "liveaboard" dive boats plying its waters.
In November, as many as 11 people were killed and seven are missing, presumed dead after a dive boat capsized south of Hurghada and three British divers were killed in June 2023 in a fire aboard the MV Hurricane, a liveaboard belonging to Sharm El-Shiekh-based Tornado Marine Fleet, while anchored at the popular Elphinstone Reef.
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