Three Britons missing in Egypt after Red Sea tourist boat fire

Footage shows the boat on fire in the Red Sea off the coast of the Egyptian tourist resort, Marsa Alam

Three Britons have been confirmed as missing in Egypt after a tourist boat caught fire in the Red Sea.

A spokesperson for Tornado Marine Fleet, the company which owns the boat, said: “Today at 6.30am at Elphinstone, while doing the diving briefing, Hurricane caught fire.

“We do have three missing British passengers and all others… reached the nearest land safely.

“Now we are bringing the boat back to the marina under authority supervision.”

Searches for the missing Britons continue and a further update will be provided once investigations are complete, the spokesperson added.

A “preliminary examination” of the incident has identified an “electrical mass in the engine room” as the cause of the fire, according to a statement from the Red Sea Governorate.

The boat was carrying 15 passengers at the time of the fire, 25km off the coast of Marsa Alam, as well as 12 crew members.

The Foreign Office has confirmed it is contact with local authorities in Egypt.

An FCDO spokesperson said: “We are in contact with local authorities following an incident aboard a dive boat near Marsa Alam, and are supporting British nationals involved.”

Last week, a Russian man died off the coast of an Egyptian Red Sea resort after being attacked by a shark.

Russia’s Consul General in the city of Hurghada, eastern Egypt, confirmed that a man, who was born in 1999, had died.

Viktor Voropayev said the incident took place off Dream Beach – a popular tourist resort – in Hurghada.

He added that the man was not a tourist, but a permanent resident of Egypt.