Three British tourists are missing after a scuba diving boat they were cruising in was caught fire off Egypt's Red Sea coastline on Sunday.
A further 12 British nationals were rescued along with 12 Egyptian crew members and were taken to safety in the nearby diving resort of Marsa Shagra, about 21 km 13 miles north of the town of Marsa Alam.
The fire was caused by an electrical short circuit on the boat, named Hurricane, which had been used for a trip since June 6 in an area just north of Marsa Alam.
A search party was launched to find the rest of the British tourists who were not revealed.
Images of a white motor yacht with the same name on fire on the sea were posted on social media, with thick smoke billowing into the sky.
We saw smoke from the boat, it was around 9 km from the beach, said Ahmed Maher, a diving manager at Marsa Shagra village. A nearby boat rescued them and dropped them off. Britain's foreign office said it was in contact with local authorities and supporting nationals involved in the incident.
In Egypt, fatal boat accidents are rare. A boat that capsized in a lake near Egypt's Mediterranean city of Alexandria in 2021 left at least five people dead, including three children.
In 1991, the Egyptian ferry Salem Express sank, killing at least 471 people, mostly Muslim pilgrims, from Saudi Arabia.
The Red Sea resorts of Egypt harbor some of the country's most renowned beach destinations and are frequently visited by European holiday devotees. Egypt has seen a surge in its tourism industry in recent times, affected by political instability, Covid 19 and the negative economic impact of the war in Ukraine.