Missing Red Sea divers alive
2004-08-08 21:16
Cairo - Twelve foreign divers who went missing off Egypt's Red Sea coastline during a scuba expedition have been rescued, a government official said on Sunday.
An official at the Red Sea provincial official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Egyptian naval boats found and rescued the divers on Sunday after they were spotted in the water by a search helicopter.
The divers - five British, five Portuguese and two
Belgians - were first reported missing on Saturday morning after they going diving near al-Quseir, a diving resort 330km
south of the capital, Cairo.
The government official said they were spotted in the water 56km from al-Akhawain island, a dive spot where a charter boat had taken them a day earlier.
The official said the divers were bound for al-Quseir, where they are expected to be taken to a local hospital.
The 12 divers were among a 22-person dive group.
Egypt is a popular destination for divers from around the world.
- AP