CAIRO, Nov. 27 (Xinhua) -- Seven people remained missing two days after a safari boat capsized off Egypt's southeastern Red Sea coast, according to Egyptian Armed Forces Spokesman Gharib Abdel-Hafez on Wednesday.
So far, five more people have been rescued and four bodies recovered during the search efforts over the past two days, bringing the total number of survivors to 33, including the 28 rescued on Monday, the day of the incident.
Search efforts were continuing for seven other missing passengers and crew in the waters off the southern Marsa Alam city, said Abdel-Hafez in a statement.
The boat, named Sea Story, carried 44 passengers, including 13 Egyptians and 31 others from 11 countries -- Germany, Britain, the United States, Poland, Belgium, Switzerland, Finland, China, Slovakia, Spain, and Ireland.
The Chinese Embassy in Egypt said in a statement on Monday that two Chinese tourists had been rescued by passing vessels near the site of the incident. The embassy has contacted the two tourists, both of whom are reported to be in good health.
The embassy later confirmed with the two tourists that they were the only Chinese nationals onboard the boat.
Egyptian authorities reported that the boat departed from Port Ghalib in Marsa Alam on Sunday and was scheduled to arrive at Hurghada Marina on Friday.
The Red Sea Province's control center received a distress signal from a crew member at around 5:30 a.m. local time (0330 GMT) on Monday.
Local authorities said the boat sank within 5-7 minutes of its impact with the wave, leaving some passengers unable to escape cabins in time. ■
