THIS is the nail-biting moment terrified passengers jumped off an Egyptian tourist boat as they attempted to flee raging flames.
The horror footage was captured amid a mass rescue in the Red Sea this morning – with three Brits still missing.
Scroll down for video
The terrifying clip was filmed from a nearby vessel as onlookers watched the cruiser’s stern engulfed by flames as black smoke spewed out. A rescue crew was then seen motoring over in a dinghy as the last remaining passengers jumped for safety.
One man appeared so frightened to get into the water that he hung onto the boat’s side by his fingertips. Rescue services were immediately alerted to the fire after reports the boat – called the Hurricane – had caught alight from an electric circuit in the engine room.
Egypt’s Red Sea Governate said 12 crew members and 12 British tourists were rescued off the southern Red Sea resort town of Marsa Alam. Cops said the crew rescued suffered no injuries and were taken to shore in good health. But the search for the remaining three tourists – who authorities say are from the UK – is ongoing.
A spokesman for Tornado Marine Fleet, the company that owns the boat, said: “Today at 6.30am at Elphinstone, while doing the diving briefing, Hurricane caught fire. We do have three missing British passengers and all others (have) reached the nearest land safely. Now we are bringing the boat back to the marina under authority supervision.”
The boat left from Port Ghalib in the eastern city of Marsa Alam on June 6 and was due to return home today.
Ahmed Maher, a diving manager at Marsa Shagra village, said: “We saw smoke from the boat, it was around 9km from the beach. A nearby boat rescued them and dropped them off.”
Those rescued from the water were brought to safety in the nearby diving resort of Marsa Shagra. The Foreign Office is supporting Brits involved in the incident.
A spokesman said: “We are in contact with local authorities following an incident aboard a dive boat near Marsa Alam, and are supporting British nationals involved.”
Video: Shocking moment man jumps from Egypt tour boat engulfed in flames
Fatal boat accidents are uncommon in Egypt.
In 2021 a boat capsized in a lake near Egypt’s Mediterranean city of Alexandria, leaving at least five people dead, including three children. In 1991, the Egyptian ferry, Salem Express sailing from Saudi Arabia to Egypt sank killing as many as 471 people, mostly Muslim pilgrims.
Egypt’s Red Sea resorts harbor some of the country’s most renowned beach destinations and are popular with European holiday goers. It has cemented its reputation as a dive destination with easy access to coral reefs from shores and dive sites offering diverse marine life.
Source: thesun.co.uk
