Three bodies have been found after a tourist boat sank in the Red Sea near Egypt.
The yacht, called Sea Story, had 44 people on board when it went down. Two Brits are among the 16 missing.
Preliminary reports say a large wave suddenly hit the boat, making it capsize within five minutes.
Governor of the Red Sea, Amr Hanafi, said: “The initial cause of the accident, according to the accounts of foreigners and the Egyptian crew, was a large wave from the sea that hit the boat, causing it to capsize.
“The matter was sudden and fast, as it took about five or seven minutes, and some of the passengers were inside the cabins, which is the secret behind their inability to get out of the boat.”
He added that many of the people still missing are experienced divers. The Navy has been deployed in the area for a search and rescue mission.
The boat went out despite Egyptian weather forecasters warning of stormy weather and waves as high as 13 feet.
The UK Foreign Office said that support is being given to “a number of British nationals and their families.”
Several people from countries around the world were on board the boat at the time of its sinking. They include four Germans, two Spaniards, two Belgians, two Americans, one Irishman, and a Finn.
Other people on board were from China, Slovakia, Switzerland, Poland, Norway, Finland and Egypt, according to reports.
The Sea Story was built in 2022. It is a 144-foot pleasure boat that reportedly carries a maximum of 32 passengers.
It is believed that tourists pay £1,000 to take a seven-night trip on the yacht.
It has 18 twin cabins to take tourists on trips through the Red Sea.
Many travel to the Red Sea to go diving and explore the array of marine life and coral reefs there.
