A Nottinghamshire dad has described a feeling of "dread" as he and his son became trapped on a capsizing yacht whilst on holiday in Egypt. Video footage has emerged showing a group of 26 tourists from around the world diving of a sinking yacht during a diving trip last month.
The footage shows the group on board the 137ft ship as it tilts and slips into the ocean, with people screaming as some throw themselves off into the sea near Hurghada, in the Red Sea, close to the entrance of the Suez Canal. The area has been dubbed the Egyptian Bermuda Triangle.
The ship capsized on April 24, with 53-year-old David Taylor being one of those on board, the Mirror reports. Mr Taylor says he first knew something was wrong when he woke up and could see fish swimming outside his cabin's window.
How satisfied are you with your GP? Let us know in our survey here.
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." Mr Taylor and his son, 21-year-old Christian, were rescued by another passenger who then became trapped down there himself.
Fernando 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.
The divers are now fundraising to replace all of their lost belongings and to start legal proceedings against the company. 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."
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.
Read next:
- Horrific attack in Nottingham was live-streamed online before victim died
- Face of stabber who attacked man with large knife in Chinese restaurant
- Teenager in hospital after stabbing in Nottingham
- Shock after one of Nottingham's oldest restaurants loved by celebrities is boarded up
- No official Notts County celebrations in Market Square due to council's 'increased' financial pressures
