“By di end, I wonder how I go prefer to die.”
To spend 35 hours trapped for pitch-black air pocket for boat wey dey upside down upturned hull of affect Lucianna Galetta, her voice bin dey shake as she remember di suffer wey she suffer.
One video wey she manage to film briefly for her phone, she share am wit BBC, e show di space wia she bin think say her life fit end – how di high rise for sea water and floating debris prevent her to escape.
Lucianna na one of di last of 35 survivors to dey rescued from di wreck of di Sea Story, an Egyptian dive vessel wey sink for di Red Sea on 25 November last year.
Up to 11 pipo die or still dey miss, including two Britons, Jenny Cawson and Tarig Sinada from Devon.
At di time, Egyptian authorities attribute di disaster to one huge wave of up to 4m (13ft), but BBC don tok to 11 survivors of di Sea Story wey doubt dat claim. Dia tori dey supported by a leading oceanographer, wey tell us say weather data from di time suggests say wave no fit dey responsible, and say na combination of crew error and fault from di boat wey likely cause am.
As well as describing di terror of being trapped for a rapidly sinking boat, di survivors accuse di company wey run am, Dive Pro Liveaboard, of several safety failings. Dem also say di Egyptian authorities bin dey slow to react, something wey fit don cost lives. We ask Dive Pro Liveaboard kwesions – wey dey based in Hurghada – and di Egyptian goment, but we no get any reply.
Dis, for di first time, na di inside tori of how di Sea Story sink, according to those wey make am alive.
Di luxury dive boat set off from Port Ghaleb wey dey for Egypt Red Sea Coast on 24 November. On board na 31 international guests – mostly experienced divers – and three dive guides, along wit 12 Egyptian crew. Dem bin dey on a six-day trip, dia first destination na Sataya Reef, a popular diving spot.
Like many of di pipo on board, Lucianna first impressions of di Sea Story bin dey positive. “E bin look like a really nice boat, very big, very clean,” she tok, from her home for Belgium.
Di company bin transfer Lucianna and odas ova last minute from anoda boat, wey bin get hundreds of good online reviews. Dem several guests say dem dey get an “upgrade” but some bin dey frustrated becos e bin no dey go di destination dem bin book.
Conditions dat night bin dey quite rough, although di survivors we bin tok to, including experienced sailors, say di boat bin look more unstable pass wetin dem bin expect.
At one point, a few hours bifor e capsizie, one small inflatable boat bin slip off di back of di Sea Story. One passenger feem as di crew battle to bring am back on board – di oceanographer wey BBC tok to say di video show conditions wey no dey unusual and consistent wit 1.5m (5ft) waves.
“Looking out at di waves, di weather no dey terrible,” Sarah Martin tok, one NHS doctor from Lancaster wey dey di trip. But, she say, “furniture bin dey slide around di deck – we ask di crew if na normal thing and dem just shrugged, so we no realise di danger wey dey inside”.
“I no sleep dat night becos di boat bin dey shake well-well,” Hissora Gonzalez tok, one diver from Spain, her cabin dey for di lower deck.
She describe how di boat roll sharply several times until, just bifor 03:00, e flip go e side wit loud bang, followed by silence as di engines die – followed by total darkness.
From di oda cabins we hear shouting, di incident troway pipo from dia beds. Pipo tins scata evri wia, e block exits and make am hard to escape. One survivor – wey bin dey sleep outside for di deck – describe how im bin dey trapped under heavy furniture wey bin shift as di boat roll.
“We no fit see anytin. I no know if I bin dey waka for floor, for ceiling, or on di side,” Hissora. Bin no really get herself, wit her condition na so she start to look around for life jackets. Bifor she find one, her friend Cristhian Cercos shout for her to run.
Dat call fit don save her life. Dia cabin bin dey starboard (right) of di boat, di side wey hit di sea. Nearly all of di pipo wey die or dey miss, cabins dey dat side of di boat.
“I bin hear wen di water dey come in, but I no see am,” Hissora tok. Dia cabin door now dey for ceiling – she only escape becos Cristhian pull her up on di fifth attempt.
Across di hall from Hissora, also complete darkness, Sarah and her cabin mate Natalia Sanchez Fuster, one dive guide. Dem no fit find di handle to di cabin door. Wen Sarah manage to turn on di torch for her phone she realise “eviritin dey 90 degrees – di door bin dey for floor and all our tins bin dey block am “.
Afta dem clear di doorway, dem join about 10 odas wey bin dey go di emergency exit towards di bow (front) of di boat.
Wit di boat now for dia side, di group get to crawl along di emergency staircase for two floors, past di restaurant and dining room wey dey for di main deck. E bin hard for dem to find dia way and e look like say di contents of di kitchen cupboards don scata for ground.
“We bin get to climb along door frames and beams to make our way out,” Sarah tok. “E no easy to waka for darkness pluss di surface we dey slippery. cooking oil and broken eggs dey everywia.”
Hissora, just ahead of Sarah, manage to make am to di upper deck. She hear pipo dey scream behind her but she no turn around. “I bin dey fear to look back and see all di water come in,” she tok.
By dis time, di Sea Story bin dey sink fast. Those wey don reach di top deck know say dem go need to jump inside di water – a 2-3m (7-10ft) drop.
“I bin dey paralysed becos Cristhian bin dey tell me say make I no jump’ becos im bin dey see somebody wey bin dey try to release di life raft,” Hissora tok.
Sarah bin dey behind Hissora and bin dey desperate to get out. “Oda guests bin dey hold on to di side, blocking di exit,” she remember. “We bin dey shout for dem to comot.”
As di water start to rise fast, Hissora, Sarah and di dozen or so pipo wey don reach di top deck jump enta di water. Dem know say dem neva free from danger. “If di boat dey go down, we need to get away so e no go pull us down wit am,” Sarah tok.
Natalia, wey also jump in, swim around di boat – she hear as pipo dey scream from inside di cabins and trie to use floating debris to break the windows, but dem no succeed.
Sarah and Natalia dey among di few wey grab a life jacket bifor dem escape, but Sarah say e bin no dey work as e suppose work.
“We notice say di lights bin no dey work. Looking back, I no think say batteries bin dey dia.”
Na just one of several safety failings wey di pipo we interview bin report.
In total, we bin speak to seven of di survivors wey bin dey stay for di lower deck. Dem tell a near-identical story of di moment di boat go ova – but not all of dem escape di same way.
Lucianna Galetta bin dey di cabin towards di back of di lower deck wit her partner Christophe Lemmens. Dem bin dey just some moments slower dan di odas in realising di danger. Dat delay cost them dearly.
“We start to get up and try to find di life jackets,” Lucianna tok. “We open di door but already water dey di corridor. I feel say we panic as we jump in and almost drown.”
Dem no fit reach di exit for front, Lucianna and Christophe end up for air pocket wey dey di engine room for di stern (rear) of di boat, wey bin still dey stick out of di water. Dem bin no understand wia dem bin dey until dem join for one tiny space, some time later, by one of the dive instructors, Youssef al-Faramawy.
Di three of dem stay dia, dem siddon on fuel tanks, for about 35 hours.
Outside di boat, Sarah, Hissora and di odas wey bin jump off eventually find di two life rafts, wey bin deploy afta di boat sink. As dem climb on board, dem see di boat captain and a number of oda crew members wey already dey dia.
“We suppose get some supplies hia,”Sarah remember one of di oda guests dey tok. All di pipo we bin speak to remember di safety briefing wey mention say di life rafts get food and water inside – but dem no get, dem tell BBC.
“We find one torch, but again e no get any batteries. We no get any water or any food,” Sarah tok.” Flares dey, but dem don already use am.”
Sarah also say out of di three blankets on board di raft, di captain take one for himself, leaving one for di rest of the crew and anoda for di guests. “We tear am up and gada togeda,” Sarah tok.
Rescue vessels meet di rafts at about 11:00 on di morning of 25 November, about eight hours afta e capsize. Both dem, and di boat, drift eastwards.
Back on board di Sea Story, Lucianna hear di rescue helicopter – but her suffer bin dey far from over.
“At dis time we bin dey happy, but we get to wait 27 hours more,” she tok.
Even as dem don locate di boat, di rescue effort bin dey slow to reach dem. “We no get communication wit pipo outside, nothing. No-one try to see if pipo dey alive dia,” Lucianna tok.
She tell me about di moments wen darkness and despair overtake her. “I bin dey ready to die. We bin no think say pesin go come.”
Afta several hours wey we dey trapped for di air pocket, di dive guide, Youssef, bin wan try to swim through di boat, but Lucianna and Christophe beg make im no do am. “Stay wit us becos dem go collect our body, so dem go find us,” Lucianna remember as she telling am.
Eventually, afta nearly a day and a half wey dem dey stuck for di hull of di Sea Story, one light appear inside darkness.
One local Egyptian diving instructor, Khattab al-Faramawi, wey be Youssef’s uncle, bin get mind to dive through di submerged corridors to look for pipo.
Im take Youssef out first, den, afta another hour delay becos of issues wit di breathing apparatus, return to lead Lucianna and her partner to safety. “I hug am so hard,” Lucianna tok. “I bin dey very, very happy.”
In total, five pipo from di Sea Story bin dey rescued by divers, including a Swiss man and a Finnish man wey bin survive for anoda air pocket inside dia cabin for di lower deck. Dem recover four bodies.
But Lucianna dey critical for di fact say Egyptian navy bin need to rely on volunteers. “We wait for 35 hours. I no understand how di Egyptian military boats no get divers.”
Dem take Lucianna, Christophe and Youssef on board one waiting naval vessel, bifor dem return to shore. Dem be di last to dey rescued. At least 11 pipo either die or dey miss, maybe dem don die.
Among dem na Jenny Cawson and Tarig Sinada, one couple from Devon wey bin dey stay on di main deck, on di side of di boat wey hit di water. Dem no find dia body.
“E no feel real,” Andy Williamson, a friend of the couple tok. “We still dey expect dem to walk through di door.” One month and a half afta di sinking, di hopes say e go happun don almost vanish.
Di couple na experienced divers who always dey carefully research di safety record of boats bifor dia trips. Dem also switched on to di Sea Story for di last minute, something wey fit ultimately cost dem dearly.
Di BBC speak to survivors from nearly every cabin for di vessel wey pesin comot alive. Dem all confam say di boat sink between 02:00 and 03:00. However, according to local authorities, dem no receive a distress signal until about 05:30 – anoda factor wey fit don cost lives.
Five survivors also report say heavy furniture for di top deck bin dey unsecured and e bin dey move around bifor di sinking. Di woman wey bin dey sleep on di deck believe say all of dem bin shift to one side, as di boat start to overturn, wey further destabilise di Sea Story.
Di tori wey di Egyptian officials put out wen e happun, wey tori pipo around di world bin report na say huge wave hit di boat. Multiple survivors’ experiences for water, just minutes afta e capsize, casts doubt on dat.
“When we bin dey water, di waves bin no dey so big for us not to swim,” Sarah tok, “so e make us wonder why dat boat sink.”
Those suspicions dey supported by data.
Dr Simon Boxall na ogbonge oceanographer from di University of Southampton. Im don analyse di weather from di day wey show say di biggest waves bin dey about 1.5m (5ft) – so im say “e no dey possible say a 4m (13ft) wave fit occur for dat region, at dat time”.
Di Egyptian Meteorological Authority bin warn of high waves for Red Sea and advise against maritime activity on 24 and 25 November. But, according to Dr Boxall, “dis bin dey ova 200km (120 miles) away to di north of wia di vessel go down.”
E say im leave am wit only two options, either pilot error or an error for di design of di vessel – or na combination of both.
Di UK Marine Accident Investigation Board (MAIB), wey go shortly publish a safety bulletin on di sinking, don recently warn divers of safety issues for di Red Sea afta a number of incidents – at least two of which involve di same company, Dive Pro Liveaboard.
BBC send all di safety concern wey dis article raise plenty times to Egyptian goment and di company, Dive Pro Liveaboard. We neva receive any response from either of dem.
Afta di disaster, di Egyptian authorities immediately open investigation on di sinking. Wey dem yet to report, but for di friends of Jenny and Tarig dis na about more dan one boat.
“We’ve unfortunately get to learn of di dangers of diving for Egypt for di most tragic of circumstances,” Andy Williamson tok. “I know how we go ever get ova dia.
Lucianna want to understand exactly wetin go wrong. “We dey lucky to dey alive,” she tok. “But so many pipo no come back from dis and I want dia families to dey able to grieve.”
On Wednesday, di survivors tell BBC about wetin happun to dem afta dem rescue dem – di kwesion now na about di official investigation.
Hissora Gonzalez na experienced scuba diver from Spain
Sarah Martin na NHS doctor and keen diver
Hissora na one of di first to make am to di upper deck but she bin no get life jacket
Christophe and Lucianna survive for air pocket
Dem neva find Jenny and Tarig body
Dem rescue 35 survivors from Sea Story
According to reports from GhanaWeb, security expert Adam Bonaa has voiced his strong criticism regarding the recent ministerial vetting conducted by the Appointments Committee of Parliament.
