A British tourist has described how he and others survived a terrifying capsizing on holiday while on board a 137ft yacht in an area said to be known as Egypt's 'Bermuda Triangle'.
A group of 26 people from across the world were supposed to be enjoying their diving holiday on a trip to Egypt last month.
But instead of making brilliant memories they would never forget, their dream holiday turned into a “nightmare” when the ship they had been staying on dramatically capsized on Monday April 24.
Of the group, 16 were British tourists, and it was only thanks to quick-thinking from all and teamwork that everyone made it out alive.
But then, instead of being helped by the company responsible for the boat, they were left without their passports, and help, they claimed, as the company allegedly threatened and pressured them to make false statements to the authorities.
Harrowing footage shows the group on board the ship as it tilts and slips into the ocean.
You can hear curses and screams as some throw themselves off into the sea near Hurghada, in the Red Sea, close to the entrance of the Suez Canal.
Another vid shows the boat slipping into the sea in scenes reminiscent of the Titanic, leaving the group clinging on before debris can seen scattered across the waves.
Then afterwards, the group can be seen huddled together desperately on a life craft before being rescued and taken to safety.
David Taylor, 53, an architectural technician from Nottinghamshire, knew something was wrong when he woke up and could see fish swimming outside his cabin’s window - instead of an idyllic view of the sky.
Eyes-witnesses said the sea was calm and the sky blue when the 137ft-long Carlton Queen suddenly began taking on water.
Mr Taylor and his 21-year-old son Christian were caught below deck, only rescued by the heroics of another passenger who then became trapped down there himself.
Speaking to The Telegraph, Mr Taylor said: "We were shouting for help and heard crashing above us and had this deep-seated feeling of dread that something terrible was happening. When we realised we couldn’t escape by the stairwell and no one had come to help us, it felt awful. I had lost the plot, I felt I couldn’t protect my son and I started to panic.”
Meanwhile, his would-be saviour Fernando Suarez Meilla, had returned to his own cabin to charge his camera, just to find that as the ship began tilting, his cabin door was suddenly where the ceiling had been.
After climbing out into the corridor he found the father and son duo panicking, but was able to lead them to an emergency hatch.
As they went, they checked each cabin to make sure it was empty, but found the handle on the hatch was defective so had to find another way out.
Eventually Mr Suarez Meilla was able to give the father and son a leg up to escape, but in the process he was trapped below deck.
He told them to leave and go, but as they did Mr Taylor hit his head on a metal tank, leaving blood gushing from the wound in his forehead.
Together, the father and son jumped into the water and floated until a life raft hauled them out.
Mr Suarez Meilla found every other escape route he tried “impossible” until he dived back through the remnants of the sinking ship, and swam out the bottom.
Toby Meadows, a 48-year-old fashion consultant from north London, was on deck when the boat began sinking, and, along with his brother, was lucky enough to be able to grab the rails as it began to tilt.
Others weren’t so fortunate and were tossed across the boat, and overboard into the sea.
The divers are now fundraising to replace all of their lost belongings and to start legal proceedings against the company who they claimed tried to pressure them into making false statements to authorities.
On a GoFundMe page, they said: “Some very very basic help was offered, but soon followed lie upon lie.
“The company made a lot of noise about wanting to help, but in the end it was all of us who did all the work to get the necessary paperwork to be able to travel back home.
“Unfortunately, our nightmare didn’t stop there. In the days that followed we were left alone with the predicament we were in.
“By the representative of the company that organized the trip we were threatened, lied to and pressured to make false statements to the authorities - which we of course did not do.
"Instead of sending doctors they send lawyers, instead of providing help, they tried to spread fear among us and instead of taking responsibility for what had happened, they did not even show up to a meeting in which they initially told us to provide a compensation offer.”
The Carlton Fleet, the company responsible for the trip, initially posted a statement on Facebook where they claimed their office “reacted quickly” and that they were helping them all with applications for new passports.
One of the Brits on board branded this a “false statement” and the company’s Facebook has seemingly been put onto private since.
The Mirror has approached the company for comment.
