17 people missing including four Britons after tourist yacht sinks in Red Sea off coast of Egypt

It was confirmed that the yacht had been carrying 31 tourists and 14 members of crew, 45 people in total, when it sank in the early hours of Monday, November 25. Amr Hanafy, governor of the Red Sea region, confirmed that 28 people had been rescued, with 17 still missing.

Rescue teams have been working to rescue the remaining missing people. The British Foreign Office has confirmed that it is providing consular support to “a number of British nationals and their families” following reports that four Britons were among the missing.

A distress call was made from the vessel, named Sea Story, at around 5.30am on Monday morning. The boat had left Port Ghalib in Marsa Alam on Sunday (November 24) for a five-day sailing trip, due to reach its destination of Hurghada Marina on November 29.

While the cause of the sinking has not yet been confirmed, it came after the Egyptian Meteorological Authority issued a weather warning in the Red Sea region for turbulence and high waves. Travel in the Red Sea at this time was not recommended by the authority.