Viral video shows passengers jumping out of fire-engulfed boat off Egyptian coast, three British tourists dead

12 other British divers and 14 Egyptian crew members, who were all reportedly qualified divers on a weeklong cruise, were evacuated Sunday morning.

A fire accident at a scuba diving boat in the Red Sea off the Egyptian coast on Sunday left three British nationals dead. According to the Egyptian authorities, the medium-sized scuba vessel named “Hurricane” went up in flames after an electrical short circuit in the boat’s engine room.

Three British tourists died after a scuba diving boat caught fire on Sunday morning.

Video of the boat off the coast of the Marsa Alam resort town showed fire engulfing both decks of the ship as smoke billowed into the air. Some of the passengers of the ill-fated ship could also be seen jumping onto the rescue boats.

“It is with great regret that we, as the tour operator, with heavy hearts, must accept that three of our much-valued dive guests who had not participated in the dive briefing, early on the morning of June 11, perished in the tragic incident,” said Pat Adamson, a spokesperson for Scuba Travel.

12 other British divers and 14 Egyptian crew members, who were all reportedly qualified divers on a weeklong cruise, were evacuated Sunday morning.

According to the tour operator Scuba Travel and Tornado Marine Fleet, which operated the diving boat, a fire broke out at 8.30am local time during a diving briefing, reported The Guardian.