Diver describes rescuing nephew from capsized Egypt boat

An Egyptian diver involved in the rescue operation of people scouring the wreckage of a tourist boat which sank in the Red Sea has described how he found his nephew among the passengers trapped but still alive on the boat.

Rescuers on Tuesday found five survivors on the vessel and four bodies. On the third day of the search, seven people remain missing.

“We dived 12m (40ft) underwater – the survivors were trapped inside the boat cabins,” Mr Khattab al-Faramawy told the BBC.

They had survived more than 24 hours on the boat since it was sunk by a large wave near Marsa Alam off Egypt’s eastern coast on Monday.

Mr al-Faramawy described the complexities of searching the submerged four-deck boat to find passengers and crew.

“We were using torch lights to try to find our way into the darkness, it was quite a complicated mission,” he said.

Eventually, they were able to open cabin doors to get survivors out.

His own nephew was among them. Youssef, 23, worked as a diving instructor on board the boat.

“He was trying to save the passengers on board but got locked in one of the cabins,” his father Hussam al-Faramawy told the BBC in an emotional phone call.

“I could do nothing but pray to God to help my boy, and thankfully his uncle finally saved him.”

Hussam al-Faramawy said he broke down in tears when he learnt his son had survived.

“I couldn’t tell his mother what happened to the boat, she would have died immediately. I only told her after I realised that he survived,” he said.

Youssef is currently receiving treatment in a local hospital, as are other survivors. A total of 33 of the 44 people on board the Sea Story have been rescued so far.

Officials have not yet disclosed the identities of the victims and missing. The BBC understands two of the missing are British nationals.