Egypt Sindbad submarine sinking child victims identified as bodies ‘still inside submerged vessel’

Lyudmila Gordeeva, 35, from Vyborg, in Russia, was killed with her daughter Sofia, 13, and one of her twin sons, aged three. It comes after a submarine horror in the Red Sea

A music teacher has tragically died alongside her three children after they were trapped in a submerged vessel in the Red Sea off the Egyptian coast.

Lyudmila Gordeeva, 35, from Vyborg, in Russia, was killed with her daughter Sofia, 13, and one of her twin sons, aged three after the submarine sank on Thursday. The family boarded a routine underwater sightseeing tour off the coast of Hurghada when the horror suddenly unfolded.

One woman, who claimed to be a survivor, said that the hatches of the vessel were open during boarding. She told Russian media outlet, Ren TV, that she saw water flowing inside as people got on the boat.

Sadly, 45 holidaymakers and five Egyptian crew members were onboard when the disaster struck. Emergency crews raced to the scene. 29 of the 39 tourists rescued were injured and taken to hospitals, according to reports.

Officials confirmed that all six tourists who died were Russian.

The bodies of those who died are still believed to be inside the stricken submarine. It sank as water poured into it as it was loading passengers with its hatches open. Lyudmila had moved to Russia from Berdychiv, Zhytomyr region, in Ukraine, around a decade ago.

She was a music teacher and accompanist at the Vyborg School of Arts, and was in the Red Sea resort on a family holiday. Lyudmila’s family is the second known to have been devastated by the devastating incident.

The Russian authorities today confirmed that anaesthetist Dr Ravil Valiullin, 40, a father of two, was also killed in the tragedy. He was on the Hurghada vessel with his wife Dr Kristina Valiullina, 39, and their daughters – aged ten and 15. They all survived the ordeal.

His wife was initially reported dead due to an error on victims by the Egyptian authorities. However, she survived and is now in hospital with their daughters.

Russian Channel 5 earlier reported: “The main version of the tragedy is considered to be an error by the crew of the submarine, although issues regarding the technical condition of the bathyscaphe and the organisation of tourist dives are also being considered. Following the incident, the Egyptian authorities imposed a temporary ban on all excursions using submarines.”

The submarine, named “Sindbad”, runs one to three hour tours, usually cruising at about 20-25 metres (65-80 feet) underwater with panoramic windows on the bottom to give views of the marine life, according to the website of the company that the Russian consulate identified as running the vessel.