Survivors of a diving boat wreck in the Red Sea are speaking out about their terrifying ordeal.
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On Sunday, Nov. 24, the Sea Story left Porto Ghalib in Marsa Alam, Egypt, with plans to reach the Hurghada Marina on Nov. 29. Per Reuters, the boat was carrying 44 passengers, including 31 tourists and 13 crew for a diving trip.
However, the next day, it was announced that the diving boat had capsized. 28 people were rescued with minor injuries, however, according to some survivors, the healing is just beginning.
“I was so ready to die,” Lucianna Galetta, a Belgian citizen, told the BBC. “We didn’t think that someone would come.”
Galetta was reportedly one of the last passengers to be rescued, after waiting nearly 35 hours in the dark. She and her partner, Christophe Lemmens, along with diving instructor Youssef al-Faramawy, survived after finding an air pocket at the rear of the vessel, which was still sticking out of the water.
“We had no communication with the outside, nothing,” she recalled. “No one tried to see if there was someone alive in there.”
11 of the Ship’s Passengers Have Been Confirmed Dead or Are Still Missing
According to Reuters, the vessel sank five to seven minutes after being hit by a large wave. 11 of the survivors have said that they believe “crew error” and “safety failings” by the tour operator, Dive Pro Liveaboard, could have contributed to the disaster.
At this point, 11 of the ship’s passengers have been confirmed dead or are still missing, the BBC reports.
“We are lucky to be alive,” Galetta told the BBC. “But there are so many people who didn’t come back from this and I want their families to be able to grieve.”
Another survivor, Sarah Martin of the UK, said she remembered that “the weather wasn’t terrible” prior to the wave hitting the boat.
However, she also told the BBC that she’d noticed “furniture was sliding around the deck.”
“We asked the crew if it was normal and they just shrugged. So we didn’t realize the danger we were in,” Martin added.
Oceanographer Dr. Simon Boxall Says Weather Data Suggests a Wave Could Not Have Been Responsible for the Sinking
At the time of the incident, Egyptian officials attributed the sinking to the large wave. However, the BBC spoke with an oceanographer, Dr. Simon Boxall, who said “weather data from the time suggests a wave could not have been responsible.” He believes either pilot or design error contributed to the tragedy.
Ultimately, Galetta and her companions were rescued by al-Faramawy’s uncle, Khattab al-Faramawi, a local diving instructor. They were then taken on board a waiting naval vessel.
Egyptian authorities immediately opened an investigation into the sinking. The BBC’s efforts to reach out to Dive Pro Liveaboard have gone unanswered.
In a translated statement at the time, the Egyptian Armed Forces said, “The Navy continued its efforts in the search operations in the accident area south of Marsa Alam city in the Red Sea Governorate… Medical aid was provided to the survivors in cooperation with the executive authorities of the Red Sea Governorate, and the Navy continues its efforts to find the rest of the missing [persons].”