Three missing British passengers who were on a diving boat that caught fire in Egypt have died, a tour operator has confirmed.

Scuba Travel, which ran the diving tour the Brits were on, confirmed the three Brits were dead.

In a statement, the company said the three passengers were among 15 qualified diving enthusiasts who were on a week’s stay on board the ‘Hurricane’ dive boat when the fire broke out at around 8.30am on Sunday.

They said: ‘At the time the fire broke out, 12 divers were participating in a briefing on board, while those missing had apparently decided not to dive that morning.’

According to Scuba Travel, the severity of the fire meant that 12 of the divers were immediately evacuated to another craft nearby and the 14 crew members also had to abandon ship after trying to reach the missing guests.

A full investigation into the cause of the fire will be carried out by police and local authorities.

The ‘Hurricane’ is being towed to a yet-to-be-decided port as it is still smouldering and will need to cool down before entry.

The company’s statement read: ‘It is with great regret that we, as Tour Operator, with heavy hearts, must accept that three of our much-valued dive guests, who had not participated in the dive briefing, early on the morning of June 11, perished in the tragic incident.

‘Our sincere and heartfelt condolences go out to their families and friends at this very sad time.’

This is a breaking news story, more to follow soon… Check back shortly for further updates.

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