A sudden fire on a luxury dive boat killed three British divers on the Red Sea earlier this week.
The fire broke out about 8:30 in the morning on the last day of a week-long dive trip, and the flames quickly engulfed the yacht, named Hurricane. The 12 Brits who were diving that day were starting a briefing on deck when the fire began. They escaped on RIBs, along with 14 Egyptian crew and dive guides; they were picked up by another dive boat nearby. The three who died were apparently trapped below deck, but we don’t have any details.
The 26 people who survived were taken to Marsa Shagra, a diving center on the western side of the Red Sea below the Suez Canal. The area is a major diving destination.
Local authorities said the fire was caused by an electrical short in the Hurricane’s engine room.
The fire is reminiscent of another diving boat tragedy, when a fire on the dive boat Conception off Southern California on Sept. 2, 2019, killed 33 passengers and one crew member. After an investigation, the National Transportation Safety Board said the fire was probably caused by the cameras and electronic devices with flammable batteries that the passengers, who were trapped below deck, had plugged in to recharge overnight. Read more:
