An Egyptian yacht built in 2022 has sunk, leaving passengers trapped inside the boat since Monday. The live aboard diving boat encountered large waves Monday morning in the Red Sea, and capsized quickly. Some 28 people were rescued right away on Monday by the Egyptian Navy, the Egyptian authorities say they have recovered four bodies.

By Thursday afternoon some seven people were missing and recent rescue efforts revealed that a number of people were rescued from their cabins. The yacht is in about 12 meters of water with a part of it poking above the surface. Ongoing rescue operations hope to find and return those who may be trapped inside their cabins.

Related: Red Sea cargo ship sinks

The survivors and the missing are an international group of divers and an Egyptian crew. The boat sunk within 5 minutes in the early morning. No doubt many passengers were still in bed.

The Sea Story was a live-aboard diving boat meant to bring divers to their dream dive destinations in Egypt. The yacht left its port near the Egyptian town of Marsa Alam on Sunday for a five-day diving trip. On Monday it was believed to be hit by a large wave which caused it to sink. In total 33 passengers have been rescued, along with four bodies.

The owner of EcoOcean, a research vessel that conducts environmental research in the Red and Med Sea, told me once about the power of the Red Sea and the time that they almost capsized. A storm blew in and being a vessel registered in Israel they could not dock at Saudi Arabia or Sudan and had to keep going despite the risk of capsizing. The Red Sea in the area of the Sinai Peninsula is remarkably calm but go more south and it can be wild.

See below footage from divers onboard the Carlton Queen documenting its sinking and rescue last year.

Diver Ian Cilia from Malta, told Green Prophet: “I was on this boat..absolutely beautiful boat. Probably owners had to recover the money they spent on it by going out in atrocious conditions. Cost peoples lives. Just my opinion.”

Egypt is not known for its strict enforcement of the laws. You can ride in the back of a pickup truck and walk on coral reefs in nature reserves. It is in Egypt where people do not get into trouble for keeping dolphins in swimming pools.

Questions have already been raised about diving operations in the region. This isn’t the first time a tourist boat has seen trouble. Last June, three British tourists died after a diving yacht caught fire on the Red Sea. Another yacht, the Carlton Queen, capsized and sank near Hurghada earlier last year. No one died, but the passengers onboard said the vessel was not seaworthy. Also at Hurghada, tourists are shocked to see restaurants serving sharks and manta rays on the menu.

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At a public vigil held on Tuesday, the Culture Minister Hamad bin Abdulaziz al-Kuwairi said that his daughter “is the saddest person on earth,” according to Reuters.

Meanwhile, distraught parents of the triplets have called the incident a tragedy and an accident, but have expressed that they do not want to place blame.

The mall’s chief manager and head of security are also being held following witness accounts that mall officials were negligent in their emergency response duties. Qatar’s Attorney General issued called for the arrests yesterday, though it isn’t certain what charges have been made.

According to Reuters, the nursery at the end of a hallway was only accessible by a small passage. Since there was no fire escape, the room became a “death trap” filled with dense smoke and intense heat after the staircase collapsed. Rescue workers were forced to smash through the mall’s roof in an effort to reach the children.

Moroccan firefighter died holding two children in his arms

Arab Times Online reports that “Abdel Khaleq al-Huwari, one of dozens of firemen who responded to the blaze, told AFP that the rescue teams were not informed about the existence of a nursery in the mall until half an hour after they arrived on the scene.”

By the time he reached the nursery, al-Huwari found Moroccan firefighter Husam Shahboun lying dead on the floor “holding two children in his arms. The other (Iranian) firefighter was barely alive when we found him,” Huwari told the paper. “We tried to save him but he died.”

We will continue to follow the developments, and sincerely hope that this devastating event will spur sweeping changes in planning and safety law – not only in the Gulf, but throughought the Middle East, where even more tragedies are inevitable given the shoddy state of construction affairs.

:: Reuters

image via Doha News, Tumblr

More on the Fire in Doha, Qatar:

Qatar Fire: Expatriates Furious Over Officials’ Lackadaisacal Attitude

Qatar Mall Owner Faces Arrest for Deadly Fire

The post Culture Minister’s Daughter Arrested in Connection with Qatar’s Fire appeared first on Green Prophet.

Murder in Doha?

Attorney General Ali bin Feitais al-Marri issued the arrest orders amid public outcries and murder accusations after Monday’s tragedy. The Villaggio’s sprinkler system failed and emergency responders were unable to navigate the building as no floorplans or blueprints were available. Rescue crews eventually broke through the roof of the mall in order to reach the daycare facility that was situated at the end of long, twisted hallways, according to local papers.

The fire’s cause has not been identified, but the state has ordered an investigation and the results are expected to be released within a week.

“What happened is similar to murder because of the lack of safety measures in such complexes,” wrote Saleh al-Kuwari, editor of the Al Raya newspaper in Doha. Other Arab writers have issued similar vitriols, demanding more accountability, better safety regulations and more systematic reviews of buildings constructed with such enormous haste.

Condolences for fire deaths not enough

Qatar Prime Minister Sheik Hamad bin Jassem bin Jabr Al Thani offered public condolences to “all the parents and relatives of those killed in this horrible fire,” while Arab leaders across the region have commisserated with Qatar’s emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani. But these gestures will do little to stay the public’s growing anger as many argue that safety takes a back seat to profit where the region’s explosive construction boom is concerned.

Similar tragedies have occured in the neighboring United Arab Emirates, where authorities are considering a plan to ban flammable panels in skyscraper construction projects – a case of too little too late.

This unfathomable tragedy is bound to lead to a belated sweep of safety measures and emergency response throughout the region, which will do little to assuage the parents who have lost their children, or the families of the two firemen and caretakers who also perished in the fire.

But Qatar is bound to feel the heat during the lead-up to the 2022 soccer World Cup when thousands of fans will expect to feel safe in newly-constructed solar-powered stadiums and other facilities.

image via CC Qatar, Flickr

More News from Qatar:

Qatar Fire: Expatriates Furious over Official’s Lackadaisacal Attitude

Local Architect Questions the Logic of Qatar’s 2022 World Cup Groundwork

The Showcase is a Mini Prototype Stadium for Qatar’s 2022 World Cup

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