Deadly submarine, bloody shark attacks & 16 dive boat accidents – how Red Sea has been cursed with tourist disasters

THE Red Sea submarine tragedy which killed six is the latest in a string of disasters to hit the tourist hot-spot.

A series of deadly accidents from dive boats sinkings to deadly shark maulings has tainted the resort destination's image.

The carnage has even prompted a warning from the UK government to would-be travellers about the perils of the Red Sea.

Six people died and 39 were miraculously rescued after the Sindbad pleasure submarine sank off the Egyptian resort city of Hurghada on Thursday.

Bombshell first images of the sunken sub just moments after the tragedy showed it floundering on the sea bed.

Reviews of previous trips in the sub revealed that it scraped and bumped along the sea floor.

Past passengers described it as “the worst experience ever”, and said the vessel was in “terrible condition”.

But this far from the first boating calamity on the Red Sea.

There have been as many as sixteen dive boat accidents in the past five years – often attributed to dodgy, over-modified equipment.

Live-aboard dive boats have been proven especially dangerous, and were the focus of the government's warning.

The Sea Story capsized and sank in November 2024, killing 11 of the 44 onboard.

Two more boats run by the same firm – Dive Pro Liveaboard – have sunk in the past three years.

Scuba Scene was destroyed by a fire in April 2022 with 36 onboard, and the same happened to Sea Legend in February 2024.

The passengers and crew of those voyages were lucky to all escape alive.

Holidaymakers also contend with the constant threat of shark attacks – and some have lost their lives.

A Romanian woman called Elisabeth Sauer, 68, was mauled to death by a tiger shark in July 2022.

Disturbing images of the attack showed a red stain growing in the water around her.

Then a 24-year-old Russian man was dragged into the water and savaged to death by a 10ft-long beast in June 2023.

The man's head and hand were reportedly later found inside the shark's digestive system.

And an EU diplomat, Italian Gianluca di Gioia, 48, was ripped apart in December 2024.

Peppino Fappani, 69, a retired dentist, tried to fight off the beast by jabbing it in the eye – sustaining gruesome wounds to his right hand in the struggle.

A stark warning from the UK government issued in November 2024 read: “Over the last 5 years, 16 accidents have occurred involving liveaboard dive vessels operating in the Red Sea.

“Three liveaboard dive boats have been lost in the last 21 months that resulted in numerous deaths including some UK nationals.

“Today, the MAIB has published safety advice aimed at people considering a dive boat holiday in the Red Sea.”