28 people are saved after a tourist boat sinks off the coast of Egypt in the Red Sea

The Red Sea Governorate said in a statement on Monday that Egypt saved 28 people after a tourist boat capsized off the coast of the Red Sea. They were still looking for the other 17 passengers and team members.

A separate statement from the governorate says that the Sea Story went down near the coastal town of Marsa Alam while taking 45 people on a multi-day diving trip. The passengers included 31 tourists from different countries and 14 crew members.

Armed forces frigates and planes searched the area for the missing, but a government source said that the search was over for the night at 5:00 p.m. (1500 GMT).

At 5:30 a.m. (0330 GMT), the governorate said they got an emergency call. They also said the boat had left from Porto Ghalib in Marsa Alam on Sunday and was planning to return to Hurghada Marina on November 29.

Red Sea governor Amr Hanafi did not say what country the tourists were from, but Pawel Wronski, a spokesman for the Polish Foreign Ministry, told the state news service PAP that two of the tourists may be Polish.

The Red Sea is a popular place to dive because of its coral reefs and sea life. It is also an important part of Egypt’s important tourism business.

It’s possible that the boat sank near the Sataya Reef, but Hanafi didn’t say anything else.

In a statement, the Egyptian Red Sea Ports Authority said that the area was closed to shipping on Sunday at noon, when the wind speed hit 34 knots and the waves were 3 to 4 meters (10 to 13 feet) high.

This is the second boat this year to sink in this area. The Environment Ministry said at the time that strong waves tore a boat apart and caused it to sink in June.

There were no reports of injuries.