Survivors of the deadly Sindbad submarine sinking have shared the terrifying moment they knew something was wrong. The tourist submarine sank in the Red Sea off the coast of Egypt. Six tourists have died following the vessel encountering difficulty when setting sail from Hurghada, a popular destination for British, German and Russian tourists.
The cause of the incident has not yet been revealed, yet disturbing details are coming to light as the investigation takes place. Elena Boldareva is among the 39 survivors, who has revealed the last moments onboard before the fatal incident. Elena claims that the submarine started to dive with the hatches still open, leaving passengers urgently trying to escape. “Some managed to swim out, some didn’t,” she said.
The survivor and her husband were able to get out, however, her daughter and mother have been left hospitalised in a serious condition. Elena explains how people on nearby boats rushed to help, attempting to pull those on board out of the water before fate struck.
Two children are among the six people dead. A husband and wife, both doctors, have also been killed, leaving their two daughters – aged 10 and 15 – orphaned. Both girls were on board the vessel and escaped, and are now in hospital. Another 13-year-old girl has also been left orphaned.
A separate survivor’s account is similar to that of Elena’s. “When my family and I were standing on a pontoon and were about to board the submarine, the submarine suddenly started to sink, even though the hatches were open,” they told Russian outlet Mash.
“The man who was responsible for loading shouted ‘stop, stop, stop’ and started pushing us back towards the pontoon,” the unnamed passenger claimed.
Biblio Globus Egypt Tours, the company that runs the submarine tours, said in a statement that the vessel crashed 1km off shore. Multiple ambulances were deployed to the scene in Hurghada, with people recalling sirens which “lasted a long time” after the submarine capsized.
The Red Sea governor, Amr Hanafy, said the 45 passengers on the Sindbad were from Russia, India, Norway and Sweden. Five Egyptian crew members were also on board. In a statement, he said that all six of those who had sadly died were Russians and that 29 of the 39 tourists that had been rescued were injured and had been taken to hospital. Nobody from the vessel is still missing.
