Three British tourists have been confirmed dead after a fire onboard a diving boat off Egypt’s Red Sea coast, a day after they were declared missing. Twelve other divers and 14 crew, including the captain of the Hurricane, were rescued after abandoning the ship on Sunday morning. The group had sailed out to Elphinstone reef, a famed diving spot roughly 12km offshore and 30km from the resort town of Marsa Alam. According to the tour operator Scuba Travel and Tornado Marine Fleet, which operated the diving boat, a fire broke out onboard at 8.30am local time during a diving briefing. Egyptian authorities said initial examinations indicated that an electrical short circuit in the engine room sparked the blaze. The Hurricane is a “liveabord” vessel, designed to accommodate tourists for days at a time. When the fire occurred, the group were reportedly at the end of a six-day stay on the boat.
SOURCE: CNN