MARSA ALAM, Egypt (7 Jan 2007) -- Three foreigners and an Egyptian went missing on Saturday while scuba diving in the Red Sea, an Egyptian diving association said. A fifth diver who was with them was able to swim to shore despite strong winds and high waves. An Egyptian, three Russians and a Dutch man began scuba diving Saturday morning about 13km north of the Red Sea resort town of Marsa Alam, located about 700km south-east of Cairo, said Alaa El Din Abdelgeleel, who heads the search and rescue committee for the Red Sea Association for Diving and Watersports. The five were diving near a large coral reef and were scheduled to return to their dive boat 45 minutes later, he said. When they did not return on time, the boat's skipper reported them missing to Beachsafari, which organized the dive trip. As part of the initial search, the boat sailed near the reef to look for the divers but did not find them. One of the Russian divers, identified by the Russian Foreign Ministry as Vladislav Lukyanchenko, swam for three hours before he reached the shore, lost consciousness and was taken to a hospital, Abdelgeleel said. Lukyanchenko, who was released from the hospital on Sunday, later told officials that he and the other divers became lost while diving and started swimming in the direction of a coastal village, the Red Sea Association official said. But Lukyanchenko lost the other four divers while swimming in rough seas, Abdelgeleel said. Around 11:30 p.m. on Saturday, the Red Sea Association launched an official search and rescue operation, Abdelgeleel said. The Association identified the missing Egyptian scuba diving guide as Mahmoud Ahmed Hamdan. The missing Russian man was identified as Dmitry Kapitonov and the woman as Yelena Sundukova, the Russian Foreign Ministry said. | | Marsa Alam Abdelgeleel identified the missing Dutch man as Michel van Assendflft, and the Dutch Embassy in Cairo said it did not have any information about him. Abdelgeleel said the Egyptian guide was an experienced diver, and Sundukova was a professional diving instructor. He said he remained optimistic that they would be found alive, but said the sea's waves were strong and the divers did not have flash lights or whistles, which could help rescuers locate them. The Red Sea's water temperature was around 20°C, and although sharks are located in the area, Abdelgeleel said the chances that sharks attacked them was slim. More than a dozen boats, including several navy vessels, a helicopter and volunteer divers helped search for the missing divers on Sunday but did not find them, Abdelgeleel said. The search was set to reconvene on Monday morning. "Their diving suits will help them float as well as keep them warm, and we will start searching again in the early morning," Abdelgeleel said. SOURCE - SAPA, Interfax, RIA-Novosti |
