Egyptian authorities are searching for 16 missing passengers after a tourist yacht carrying 45 people — 31 tourists and 14 crew members — went down in the Red Sea, just south of Marsa Alam. The vessel took off on Sunday from Porto Ghalib as part of a multi-day diving trip, before sinking after the boat was hit by a large wave that capsized the vessel. The Egyptian Meteorological Authority had warned of turbulence and high waves on the Red Sea on Sunday and Monday.

The Tourism Ministry is following up on the latest developments, having set up two control rooms — one in the new capital and another in the Red Sea governorate — to follow up on the rescue and search operations, according to a statement from the ministry.

The story got attention from: Reuters | AP | Bloomberg | Sky News | ABC News | USA Today | BBC | Telegraph | Xinhua.

PLUS- Cairo Airport feud catches the international press’ attention: The New York Times is out with a piece detailing Egypt’s 1.1k-word rebuttal to travel blogger Ben Schlappig’s critique of Cairo International Airport. Schlappig’s blog post titled Cairo Airport: Is There A Worse Major Airport?, which called the airport disorganized and its staff “actively hostile,” prompted the Civil Aviation Ministry to release a step-by-step account based on security footage, disputing his claims and questioning his motives. The ministry defended the airport’s nearly four-star rating and accused Schlappig of attempting to undermine the airport.

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