Shipwreck - Divers need your help [Eng]

Dear friends, families, divers around the world and good souls out there – We need your help!

We are Zoe (31) and Dominic (36) from Germany and we have a passion for diving, which we share with 24 friends from six different countries as often as possible.

In April 2023 our “little family” of divers and we went on a trip to Egypt to explore the depths of the red sea with all its coral reefs and shipwrecks to witness the beauty that lies beneath the surface.

However, on Monday 24th of April our reunion and the journey we were all looking forward to turned into our biggest nightmare when the live-aboard boat capsized and almost sank completely in the Gulf of Suez.

Only because we had very experienced divers among us and worked together selflessly, we were able to save our lives as well as the crew that, in some cases, was not even able to swim nor to manage this life-threatening situation.

During the event we had to deal with a lack of safety equipment on board, live rafts with malfunction, flares that did not ignite an untrained crew and a captain that was amongst the first to leave the boat solely focused to safe his own life.

Six divers were trapped inside the sinking boat for almost 30 minutes, others fell off the boat during the incident and many were shocked and unable to think clearly. Nevertheless, the crew as well as we are all alive and did not suffer live threatening injuries.

Fortunately, another dive-safari boat gave us help. They launched their zodiac into the water in pretty rough seas to take us from the life raft to their boat in small groups. We are forever in debt and grateful to the people of the VIP Shrouq …. Some injured got first aid care and we were provided with towels, drinks and food. Next, we sailed to calm waters to wait for the lift from the Egyptian Navy.

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. Our passports, given to the captain at the beginning of the voyage to evacuate with him in an emergency, were of course nowhere to be found. They are somewhere in the Red Sea…if one day you come across a dolphin with a UK passport, you know where he got it.

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.

Almost all of us lost everything they have brought to the trip but a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. As we are a very diverse group, some of us are able to deal with the financial loss, however others are in a really desperate situation and have even lost the equipment needed to go back to work. The company that organized the trip is not willing to pay a single cent.

So we are hoping you can support us in raising the necessary funds

• to replace the most urgently needed things lost of those who are in desperate need of financial support

• afford medical treatments not covered by insurances for those in need that help to recover and make sure we can and will all go back under water in the future together

• get the legal support we need to make sure that no one has ever to experience what we have experienced and what could have been easily prevented

We are dreaming of a completely recovered family of divers that continues to do what they love most, full of joy, without fear and knowing they have contributed to make live-aboard journeys in the beautiful red sea a little safer. Please help me to make this dream come true.

At this point we would like to mention that we met many wonderful people in Egypt. We would like to express our special thanks to the entire crew of the ship VIP Shrouq from Sham el Sheik VIP Diving College for their dedication and boundless hospitality on board. We would also like to say a special thank you to Regina from Dive Point in Hurghada. Regina was there for the group from the beginning. She provided us with clothes, advised us and was a good listener in every situation. Last but not least we would like to thank the Egyptian Navy.