News

Three British divers have been confirmed dead after a fire broke out aboard the MV Hurricane, a liveaboard operating in the Egyptian Red Sea. The news was confirmed by UK tour operator Scuba Travel, which had chartered the boat. The three people were initially pronounced missing following the rescue of 26 people from the stricken vessel on Sunday morning, June 11th. Footage showed the Hurricane, part of the Tornado Marine Fleet, engulfed in flames.

“It is with great regret that we, as tour operator, with heavy hearts, must accept that three of our much-valued dive guests, perished in the tragic incident,” said a spokesperson for Scuba Travel in a statement. “Our sincere and heartfelt condolences go out to their families and friends at this very sad time.”

The tour operator said 12 guests were taking part in a dive briefing at around 8:30am local time when the fire broke out. All the divers attending the briefing abandoned ship and were transported by RIB to MV Blue, a nearby liveaboard. The 14 Egyptian crew and dive guides followed immediately afterwards. The three divers who were found dead had decided not to dive that morning and were therefore not present for the briefing.

The Hurricane had left Port Ghalib on June 6th and guests were planning to dive at Elphinstone Reef, the last of the trip before returning to port. The BBC reported that authorities believed the fire was due to an electrical fault—recalling the tragic fire aboard the Conception liveaboard in September 2019 that claimed 34 lives, which is thought to have started at a charging station used by guests for phones and cameras.