On Monday, in the hours after the yacht capsized near Marsa Alam on the Red Sea, the Egyptian Naval Forces rescued 28 passengers and crew members.

Earlier on Tuesday, Hanafi announced that rescue teams rescued four passengers and crew, including two Belgian nationals, a Swiss national, and an Egyptian.

He also stated that the identity of four dead bodies recovered has yet to be determined.

The Red Sea governorate said on Monday that the 34-metre-long and 9.5-metre-wide boat had 44 persons on board, including 31 tourists of different nationalities and 13 Egyptian crew.

These 31 tourists on board included German, British, American, Polish, Belgian, Swiss, Finnish, Chinese, Slovak, Spanish, and Irish nationals.

On Tuesday afternoon, the German foreign ministry announced that three German nationals who were onboard Sea Story are among those missing.

Two Britons were among the 16 people initially reported missing on Monday, according to The Independent.

According to a previous governorate statement, the incident occurred early on Monday when the safari boat sent a distress signal at 5:30am, around 46 nautical miles off the coast of Marsa Alam, near the Sataya Reef area.

The governorate clarified, quoting rescued individuals, that the boat's initial cause of sinking was being hit by a huge wave.

Governor Hanafi said on Monday that the boat capsized in five to seven minutes. Some tourists acted fast, jumping out of the cabins, while others were locked inside, he added.

The governor affirmed on Tuesday that military frigates and aircraft are actively patrolling the area in coordination with the Marine Rescue Centre and the governorate's operations room to expedite the search and rescue mission.

He emphasized that the boat had no technical faults and obtained all the necessary permits before the trip, adding that it passed its last annual maritime safety inspection in March 2024.  

Governor Hanafi visited the accident site on Monday to follow up on the rescue operations and check on the survivors' well-being.

He stated that the rescued individuals were accommodated at a tourist hotel in Marsa Alam.

Hanafi also affirmed that the government now coordinates with embassies, consulates, and relevant authorities to provide all necessary facilitations and issue required documents for the passengers, whose personal identification papers and belongings were lost during the sinking.  

In addition, relevant authorities are investigating the accident to determine the exact cause.

Earlier this week, the Egyptian Meteorological Authority (EMA) expected severe turbulence in the Mediterranean and Red Seas, advising that all maritime activities be suspended on Sunday and Monday. Wave heights were expected to reach 4-6 metres in the Mediterranean and 3-4 metres in the Red Sea.

“We didn’t receive weather warnings for Monday,” Adel Rayan, an employee in the diving and safari tourism sector in Marsa Alam, told Ahram Online.

“Other diving trips also went out yesterday [on Monday]; there were many boats in that area alongside this [sunken boat]. If there were restrictions, they would not have been there; there were no restrictions. This [boat] was a safari boat; safari boats are designed for long voyages and equipped with the latest technology,” Rayan added.

The boat was on a diving trip that departed from Porto Ghalib in Marsa Alam on Sunday and was scheduled to return to Hurghada Marina on Friday, according to the governorate's Monday statement.

In TV remarks on Monday evening, the governor indicated that the boat was struck by “a strong wave at dawn following a sudden change in weather conditions,” causing it to capsize first on its right side and then on its left.

The Monday statement added that a tourist boat called Star Gate, which was in the vicinity of the incident, played a significant role in the rescue efforts.

The Red Sea city of Marsa Alam, known for its vibrant coral reefs, diverse marine life, pristine marine ecosystems, and eco-tourism offerings, is a key destination for tourists from around the world.