Egypt recovers bodies of 3 tourists missing after boat sinks

Egyptian authorities on Tuesday recovered the bodies of three of the 16 people missing after a tourist boat sank in the Red Sea a day earlier, a government official said.

The three were recovered off the coast of Marsa Allam, the coastal town from where the 34-meter-long boat had set sail, Amr Hanafi, the governor of the Red Sea province, told Bloomberg by phone. He said the bodies were found a bit offshore, without providing further details or identifying the nationalities of the deceased.

The boat, identified as the Sea Story, was carrying 44 passengers, most of whom were foreigners. It capsized after being hit by a “big wave,” Hanafi had said earlier, citing accounts of tourists and crew members who survived the accident.

Officials said 28 passengers had so far been rescued, and none of the survivors sustained serious injuries or needed to be hospitalized.

The boat carried nationals of Belgium, Slovakia, Switzerland, the US, Spain, the UK, Germany, Poland, Norway, Ireland, Finland and China, authorities said. There were also 13 Egyptian passengers as well as the local crew.

The boat set off from Marsa Allam on Sunday and was scheduled to arrive at the tourist hub of Hurghada, further north on the coast, on Nov. 29.