Divers escape liveaboard boat ‘gutted by fire’

Liveaboard dive boat Scuba Scene has reportedly been gutted by a fire, which broke out on board off the coast of Egypt.

According to reports from Egypt, the fire broke out soon after the liveaboard Scuba Scene left Hurghada. Diving website Scubaverse received confirmation direct from a passenger who was on board Scuba Scene that all guests and crew had evacuated and were safe.

In the post on Scubaverse’s Facebook page, the passenger told how the fire had broken out in the engine room and the crew tried hard to control the fire. The passengers were evacuated onto one of the Zodiac RIBs with the crew evacuating into a second Zodiac when the fire could not be stopped. According to the source the crew were “fantastic” during the incident.

The 43m long, 9m wide steel-hulled liveaboard dive boat had been scheduled to begin a one-week Red Sea trip on Monday, 18 April.

Launched in 2011, the four-deck Scuba Scene has a maximum capacity for 26 diving guests.