Two Spaniards missing after tourist boat sinks in the Red Sea

Two Spaniards missing after tourist boat sinks in the Red Sea
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By m.p. - Nov 19, 2009 - 6:18 PM
They were with a diving expedition from Spain to the Ras Mohammed National Park

Sharm el-Sheikh - EFE archive

The Foreign Ministry has confirmed that two Spanish tourists are missing in the Red Sea after their boat, the Coral Princess, went down this Thursday off Sharm el-Sheik, on the south of the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt. Reuters reports that the remaining 14 members of their group from Spain were all rescued, as were the 7 Egyptian crew.

The Egyptian Health Ministry said the survivors had been transferred to the international hospital in Sharm el-Sheikh, but a spokeswoman for the Spanish consulate in Cairo has confirmed to Europa Press that all the Spaniards who were on board the boat are well.

An Egyptian Navy boat was assisting in the search for the missing tourists, but it’s understood no sign of them had been found more than 5 hours after the Coral Princess had capsized and sunk in the rough water and bad weather which was affecting the area.

The group had arrived there three days ago for a diving trip in the waters of Ras Mohammed, a National Park which is popular with divers for its abundant coral reefs. Another popular dive site there is the wreck of a British merchant navy ship.

The two missing divers have been named as Israel Pérez and María Lourdes González, and come from a diving club in Xàbia, Valencia. Their companions on the trip said on Thursday evening that they had little hope of their friends being found alive.

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