Survivor of Egyptian tourist boat tragedy reveals she had to wait 35 HOURS for help and was ‘ready to die’ – but made a lucky discovery in the engine room

A survivor of the Egyptian tourist boat tragedy have revealed how she had to wait 35 hours for help and how she was ‘ready to die’ after the yacht capsized in the Red Sea.

In November 2025, the yacht ‘Sea Story’, which was carrying 31 tourists and 13 crew members, was hit by a large wave near Marsa Alam in southeastern Egypt.

The disaster claimed four lives and seven people remain missing, including two British divers.

Lucianna Galetta, from Belgium, who was one of the survivors, was trapped in the sinking boat for 35 hours.

Speaking to BBC News through tears, she said: ‘I was ready to die to be honest. 

‘It’s very weird to be alive compared to the others. I was more ready to die than to be alive and living like this now.’

She had been on the boat with her partner Christophe Lemmens and the couple survived after finding an air pocket in the engine room at the rear of the vessel, which was still sticking out of the water.

Lucianna and Christophe ended up sitting in the area while they waited to be rescued and were later joined by dive instructor Youssef al-Faramawy.

Survivors of the Egyptian tourist boat tragedy have described their horror as the boat capsized and filled with water, including Lucianna Galetta, from Belgium, who was trapped in the sinking boat for 35 hours and revealed she was ‘ready to die’

Although she was ‘very happy’ to hear a rescue helicopter about eight hours after the boat capsized, Lucianna says they had to wait a further 27 before receiving help.

She added: ‘We had no communication with the outside, nothing. No one tried to see if there was someone alive in there.’

The trio ended up being rescued by al-Faramawy’s uncle Khattab al-Faramawi, a local Egyptian diving instructor.

Lucianna added: ‘We waited 35 hours. I don’t understand how there are no divers on the Egyptian military boats.’

The incident occurred during rough weather conditions, with the Egyptian Red Sea Ports Authority reporting wave heights of 10-13 feet and wind speeds of 34 knots in the area, leading to the closure of maritime traffic.

The boat departed on a diving trip from the port of Ghalib in Marsa Alam on November 24 and was scheduled to arrive at Hurghada Marina on November 29. 

However, the boat never made the journey and tilted to its side around 3am when most passengers were sleeping in their cabins.  

Fellow survivor Hissora Gonzalez, from Spain, told the BBC how the ship’s rocking stopped her from sleeping that night.

Medics and people waited for possible survivors after the boat sank at a harbour in Marsa Alam, in Egypt, 25 November 2024

Medics and people waited for possible survivors after the boat sank at a harbour in Marsa Alam, in Egypt, 25 November 2024

Another survivor, Dr Sarah Martin, from the UK, said that she remembered 'looking out at the waves,' before the disaster

Another survivor, Dr Sarah Martin, from the UK, said that she remembered ‘looking out at the waves,’ before the disaster

When the engine died and the yacht tilted to the side, Hissora recalled how all the lights went out – and she couldn’t tell if she was walking on the ship’s ‘floor or ceiling’. 

Another survivor, Dr Sarah Martin, from the UK, said that she remembered feeling concerned about the size of the waves before the disaster.

When they asked the crew if this was ‘normal’ weather, Dr Martin said they responded with ‘shrugs’.  

She added: ‘We didn’t realise the danger that we were in.’

After the ship tilted, Sarah and Hissora headed for the emergency exit at the front of the boat.

Lucianna had been on the boat with her partner Christophe Lemmens, and they survived after they found an air pocket in the engine room at the rear of the vessel, which was still sticking out of the water

Lucianna had been on the boat with her partner Christophe Lemmens, and they survived after they found an air pocket in the engine room at the rear of the vessel, which was still sticking out of the water

To make their escape, the pair had to climb over door frames and beams, which they found ‘quite disorienting’.

The pair jumped into the freezing cold water without any life jackets because they worried the boat would completely sink. 

Sarah added: ‘I thought if the boat was going down we needed to get away from it so that it didn’t pull us down with it.’

Recalling the terror, Hissora described how the current was ‘very strong’ and her friend Chris ‘got swept away’. 

One of the instructors Natalia swam back to the boat to look for anyone else and she could hear screaming from a cabin. 

She swam to the cabin window and tried to break it with debris but was unsuccessful. 

Despite local authorities suggesting that waves had been to blame, 11 people who survived the disaster told the BBC that they think ‘crew error’ and ‘safety failings’ by the tour operator, Dive Pro Liveaboard, could have contributed to the sinking. 

Medics wait for possible survivors after a boat sank at a harbour in Marsa Alam, November 25

Medics wait for possible survivors after a boat sank at a harbour in Marsa Alam, November 25

Rescuers and medics are seen on a pontoon after the boat capsized early in the morning

Rescuers and medics are seen on a pontoon after the boat capsized early in the morning

Medics wait for possible survivors after a boat sank at a harbour in Marsa Alam, Red Sea Governorate, in Egypt, 25 November 2024

Medics wait for possible survivors after a boat sank at a harbour in Marsa Alam, Red Sea Governorate, in Egypt, 25 November 2024

Ship tracking website Marine Traffic showed the last location shared by the boat as somewhere off Hurghada

Ship tracking website Marine Traffic showed the last location shared by the boat as somewhere off Hurghada

Although the water felt ‘very rough’ when they were still on board the boat, Dr Martin said it didn’t feel ‘extremely stormy’ or unable to swim in it. 

Dr Simon Boxall, Oceanographer from the University of Southampton, said: ‘I’ve had a look at the available data for that region for wind conditions and there’s no way that a large wave would have cause the vessel to capsize.

‘That really then boils down to two options either pilot error or in this case a navigator error or an error in the design of the vessel, the chances are it could be a combination of both.’

The BBC reached out to the firm that operates the yacht, Dive Pro liveaboard, multiple times to get their response to the survivors claims but they never got back to them.

Red Sea governor Amr Hanafi said it capsized ‘suddenly and quickly within 5-7 minutes’ of the impact with the wave, leaving some passengers unable to set out of their cabins in time.

Rescuers from the military and a passing tourist boat pulled 28 people from the water. Hanafi said the boat had passed its last safety inspection in March 2024, with no technical issues reported. 

The boat, owned by an Egyptian national, was 34 meters long and had received a one-year safety certificate from the Maritime Safety Authority.

Ship tracking website Marine Traffic showed the last location shared by the boat as somewhere off Hurghada.

The Sea Story is a 144ft, four-deck pleasure craft built in 2022, which can carry up to 36 passengers.

The boat has a total of 18 twin cabins with en-suite bathrooms on board, which are used for tourists on diving trips hoping to explore the Red Sea reefs.

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