紅海で観光船転覆、外国人ら１６人不明 エジプト

【カイロＡＦＰ＝時事】エジプト当局によると紅海で２５日、観光用ヨットが転覆し、複数の外国人を含む１６人が行方不明となっている。他の２８人は救助された。（写真は、エジプトの紅海沿岸マルサアラムで、転覆した観光用ヨットから救助された生存者を前に話す紅海県のアムル・ハナフィ知事）
　エジプト・紅海県の発表によれば、同日午前５時３０分、ヨットから救難信号が発信された。さまざまな国籍の観光客３１人と乗組員１３人が乗船していた。
　行方不明者は１６人で、内訳は外国人１２人、エジプト人４人。
　転覆したのはエジプト船籍の「シーストーリー」。２４日、エジプト南東部マルサアラム近郊のガリブ港から、数日間のダイビング旅行に出発。北に２００キロ離れたリゾート都市ハルガダに２９日に到着する予定だった。
　紅海県の知事は、第一報によるとヨットは「突然の大波」に飲まれ、５～７分で転覆したようだと述べた。
　乗船者にはベルギー、英国、中国、フィンランド、ドイツ、アイルランド、ポーランド、スロバキア、スペイン、スイス、米国からの観光客が含まれ、各国大使館は自国民の安否確認に追われている。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2024/11/26-18:24）

Egyptian authorities said more than a dozen people, mostly foreigners, were still missing after a tourist yacht capsized in the Red Sea on Monday, with 28 others rescued.
The vessel carrying 31 tourists of various nationalities and a 13-member crew sent out a distress call at 5:30 am (0330 GMT), a statement from Egypt's Red Sea governorate said.
It said 16 people are missing -- 12 foreigners and four Egyptians -- revising an earlier figure of 17 missing.
The statement said the boat, the Sea Story, is owned by an Egyptian national.
On board were people from Belgium, Britain, China, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Poland, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland and the United States.
The yacht embarked on Sunday on a multi-day diving trip from Port Ghalib near Marsa Alam in the southeast, and had been due to dock on Friday at the town of Hurghada, 200 kilometres (124 miles) north.
Governor Amr Hanafi said some survivors were rescued by an aircraft, while others were transported to safety aboard a warship.
Intensive search operations are underway in coordination with the navy and the armed forces, Hanafi added in a statement.
In video footage released by the State Information Service, Hanafi was seen speaking in Marsa Alam to survivors from the incident.
Beijing's embassy in Egypt said two of its nationals were in good health after being rescued in the cruise ship sinking accident in the Red Sea, according to Chinese state media.
The Finnish foreign ministry confirmed to AFP that one of its nationals is missing.
Polish foreign ministry spokesman Pawel Wronski said authorities have information that two of the tourists may have had Polish citizenship.
That's all we know about them. That's all we can say for now, he told national news agency PAP.
The Red Sea governor said initial reports suggest a sudden and large wave struck the boat, causing it to capsize within 5-7 minutes.
Some passengers were unable to escape as they were inside their cabins at the time, he added.
- 'Hit by a wave' -
According to a manager of a diving resort close to the rescue operation, one surviving crew member said they were hit by a wave in the middle of the night, throwing the vessel on its side.
The governor said the vessel had passed its latest safety inspection in March this year, with no technical issues reported.
Authorities in the Red Sea capital of Hurghada on Sunday shut down marine activities and the city's port due to bad weather conditions.
But winds around Marsa Alam had remained favourable until Sunday night, the diving manager told AFP, before calming again by morning.
By Monday afternoon, it had become increasingly unlikely that those missing would be rescued after 12 hours in the water, he said, requesting anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the media.
The Marsa Alam area saw at least two similar boat accidents earlier this year but there were no fatalities.
The Red Sea coast is a major tourist destination in Egypt, a country of 105 million that is in the grip of a serious economic crisis.
Nationally, the tourism sector employs two million people and generates more than 10 percent of GDP.
Dozens of dive boats criss-cross between Red Sea coral reefs and islands off Egypt's eastern coast every day, where safety regulations are robust but unevenly enforced.
Earlier this month, 30 people were rescued from a sinking dive boat near the Red Sea's Daedalus reef.
In June, two dozen French tourists were evacuated safely before their boat sank in a similar accident.
Last year, three British tourists died when a fire broke out on their yacht, engulfing it in flames.