More than two dozen people were rescued and a more than a dozen remained missing Monday after Egyptian authorities said a tourist boat sank off the Red Sea coast during early morning hours.
In a statement on social media, local authorities said the regional Red Sea control center received a distress signal at 5:30 a.m. local time from a member of the Sea Story crew, a luxury yacht.
The boat had 44 people on board − 14 crew members and 31 passengers from various countries, when, according to what crew members told officials, a large wave hit the ship.
The vessel set sail on Sunday from Port Ghalib Marina, near Marsa Alam on Egypt's Red Sea coast, officials said, for a diving trip scheduled to last through Friday.
The vessel had been slated to dock in Hurghada, a beach town resort about 143 miles north on the coast.
