エジプト観光用潜水艇沈没、ロシア人６人死亡

【カイロＡＦＰ＝時事】エジプトの紅海沿岸のリゾート都市ハルガダ沖で２７日、観光用の潜水艇が沈没し、ロシア人観光客６人が死亡した。（写真はエジプトの紅海沿岸のリゾート地フルガダ。資料写真）
　現地自治体長によると、外国人観光客３９人が救助されたが、ロシア人観光客６人が死亡した。うち２人は未成年だった。行方不明者はいないという。
　ハルガダにあるロシア領事館によると、潜水艇はサンゴ礁を観察する水中ツアーに出ていたが、現地時間午前１０時ごろ、岸から約１キロの地点で沈没した。ロシア人、インド人、ノルウェー人、スウェーデン人ら４５人の乗客と５人のエジプト人乗組員が乗船していた。
　自治体長事務所が公開した動画によると、潜水艇の所有会社「シンドバッド・サブマリンズ」の乗組員は搬送先の病院で、海中でもがいていた６人を救助したと語った。
　エジプトの首都カイロから南東約４００キロに位置するハルガダは、エジプトを訪れる観光客の主要な目的地となっており、昨年の空港利用客は９００万人を上回った。特に紅海のサンゴ礁や島々は人気があり、シュノーケリングやダイビング観光のために毎日数十隻の観光船が運航しているが、一方で近年、致命的な事故も発生している。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2025/03/28-17:56）

Six Russian tourists, including two minors, died on Thursday when a submarine carrying dozens of passengers sank off a major resort town on Egypt's Red Sea coast.
The governor of Egypt's Red Sea region, Amr Hanafi, said 39 foreign tourists had been rescued and six others killed, with no one missing, according to a statement shared by his office, confirming that the six tourists were Russian.
Russian state news agencies quoted General Consul Viktor Voropaev as saying that two of the deceased were minors.
The Russian consulate in the tourist hub of Hurghada earlier said the vessel had been carrying 45 tourists, including minors on an underwater excursion to observe coral reefs when it crashed 1 kilometre from the shore at about 10:00 am local time (0800 GMT).
Hanafi's office said the vessel was carrying 45 tourists of different nationalities including Russian, Indian, Norwegian and Swedish and five Egyptian crew members.
The website of Sindbad Submarines, the vessel's owner according to the Russian consulate, said it could carry 44 passengers and two crew members to up to 25 metres (27 yards) depth.
The consulate said that according to initial information, most of those on board were rescued and taken to their hotels and hospitals in Hurghada.
Investigations were underway to determine the cause of the accident, the governor's office said, adding that 21 ambulances had been dispatched.
The submarine had a valid license and its crew leader had the requisite academic qualifications, they added.
Six people were struggling under the water and we were able to pull them out, a Sindbad employee told the governor in the hospital, according to a video shared by the governor's office.
Four survivors, including at least one minor, were admitted to intensive care, according to the official statement.
- Deadly accidents -
Hurghada, a resort town about 400 kilometres (250 miles) southeast of the Egyptian capital Cairo, is a major destination for visitors to Egypt, with its airport receiving more than nine million passengers last year, according to state media.
Thursday's forecast in the city was clear, with above average wind speeds reported but optimum visibility underwater.
While dozens of tourist boats sail through the area daily for snorkeling and diving activities, Sindbad Submarines says it deploys the region's only real recreational submarine.
The vessel had been operational in the area for multiple years, according to a source familiar with the company.
The Red Sea's coral reefs and islands off Egypt's eastern coast are major draws, contributing to the country's tourism sector, which employs two million people and generates more than 10 percent of GDP.
The area has been the site of several deadly accidents in recent years.
In November, a dive boat capsized off the coast of Marsa Alam, south of Hurghada, leaving four dead and seven missing.
Thirty people were rescued from another sinking boat, while last June two dozen French tourists were safely evacuated before their boat sank in a similar accident.
In 2023, three British tourists died after a fire broke out on their yacht, engulfing their vessel in flames.