One terrified passenger from the Sindbad submarine shared their horror after panic quickly set in when the Sindbad submarine began sinking
Passengers aboard the Egyptian Sindbad submarine were thrown into panic as the vessel began to sink in the Red Sea. Tragedy struck off the coast of Egypt when the tourist sub sank, claiming the lives of at least six tourists while 39 others were rescued.
The incident occurred near Hurghada, a well-known tourist spot, when the submarine encountered problems shortly after departing from a beach in the bustling promenade area. Some survivors have shared their stories of the terrifying ordeal.
One unnamed passenger gave their account, saying: “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 passenger explained that panic quickly set in, with people scrambling to figure out what was happening. “The man responsible for loading shouted ‘stop, stop, stop’ and began pushing us back towards the pontoon,” they continued.
Other firsthand accounts include a woman who was travelling with her husband and their child. Meanwhile, another person recalled hearing ambulance sirens, which “lasted a long time” after the submersible horrifyingly capsized.”
Meanwhile, a tourist named Regina, who was with her two children, nine and 10 revealed: “We were saved by the fact that we were on the top of the submarine, we did not have time to go inside.
The mother continued: “We were queuing at the boarding, when the submarine began to sink into the water. The Egyptian who was responsible for loading shouted ‘Stop, stop!’. But naturally no one inside heard him. He shouted to us ‘Faster, faster, go to the pontoon’ from which people were boarding.
Recalling the horrors, she told Baza media outlet: “We pushed the children out. I understood that I would not be able to climb onto the pontoon itself. I tried to swim away from the submarine. I was afraid that I would be pulled under it because of the currents.
“I swam away, sat on the structures that were built around the pontoon so that they could moor here. From there I moved to the pontoon itself. This is of course a very big tragedy. I can’t put into words how difficult this situation was. There was not a single life preserver, no lifebuoys, no vests, nothing at all on the pontoon itself. Rescue boats began to approach. There were no medics among them. The police and all the surrounding people tried to get people out.
“The submarine did not fully sink, it simply descended into the water at the moment when people were getting on board, and the hatches were not battened down. That is, the whole tragedy happened because of the mistake, in my opinion, of one person who began the descent without making sure that all the people were in the submarine itself and that all the hatches were battened down.
“And there were no [organised] rescue operations from the Egyptian services. These boats delivered the victims to the shore directly to the rescuers, to the ambulances. When we were on the boat that brought all the rescued [tourists] to the shore, there really were doctors there, offering help. They took us there in a car to our hotel, fortunately it was located right next door, our hotel,” she concluded.
The submarine, carrying 45 tourists and five Egyptian crewmembers, sank in the Red Sea, according to a statement from Red Sea governor Major General Amr Hanafi, who confirmed that rescue teams were quickly dispatched to the scene. Among those dead include a music teacher alongside her three children.
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.
Named “Sindbad,” the submarine typically offers one to three-hour tours, usually diving to depths of about 20-25 meters (65-80 feet). Passengers enjoy panoramic views of marine life through windows on the bottom of the vessel, according to the company’s website, which the Russian consulate identified as operating the submarine.
Russia’s Tass news agency later reported that among the Russian casualties were at least two children, citing the country’s consul in Hurghada. This isn’t the first incident of its kind. Back in November last year, a tourist boat named Sea Story sank off Egypt’s Red Sea coast. The boat went down near Shaab Satayah, a popular coral reef for diving trips, just off the tourist resort of Marsa Alam in the early hours of November 25.
