Tourist submarine sinks off Egypt's coast, leaving 6 dead and 9 injured

Six people died and nine were injured when a tourist submarine carrying 45 passengers sank off the Egyptian coast Thursday, said provincial officials. They spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media.

Emergency crews rescued 29 people from the sinking off one of the beaches in the tourist promenade area in the Red Sea resort of Hurghada.

In addition to crew members, there were 45 passengers on board, all of them Russian and some of them minors, Russian consular officials in Hurghada said.

It is unclear how many crew members were on board.

The submarine, which belonged to the Sindbad Hotel in Hurghada, was out on a regular tour to view coral reefs. It sailed off at around 10 a.m. Thursday and sank when it was about 1 kilometer (approximately half a mile) from the shore.

Those rescued were taken to hospitals and are in a stable condition, according to the Russian consulate.

It was not immediately clear what caused the submarine to sink.

The vessel, which was operated by a Hurghada-based company called Sindbad Submarines, has 44 passenger seats, two pilot seats, and a round viewing window for each passenger, according to the company website.

In November, a tourist yacht sank in the Red Sea after warnings of rough waters, Egyptian officials said. At least four people drowned, while 33 were rescued.

Tourism is an important sector of Egypt's economy, but many tourist companies have stopped or limited traveling on the Red Sea due to the dangers from conflicts in the region.