“By the end, I was just wondering how I would prefer to die.”

Spending 35 hours trapped in a pitch-black breeze patch within the upturned hull of a ship has taken its toll on Lucianna Galetta, her accentuation cracking as she recounts her ordeal.

A video she controlled to movie in brief the usage of the bright on her telephone, now shared with the BBC, presentations the territory the place she idea her while would possibly finish – and the way surging sea aqua and floating particles averted her retirement.

Lucianna used to be one of the most closing of 35 survivors to be rescued from the demolition of the Sea Tale, an Egyptian dive vessel that sank within the Pink Sea on 25 November closing occasion. As much as 11 nation died or are nonetheless lacking, together with two Britons, Jenny Cawson and Tarig Sinada from Devon.

On the future, Egyptian government attributed the emergency to a abundance stream of as much as 4m (13ft), however the BBC has spoken to 11 survivors of the Sea Tale who’ve forged dubiousness at the declare. That has been supported via a prominent oceanographer, who advised us climate knowledge from the future suggests a stream may now not were accountable, and {that a} mixture of staff error and failings within the boat had been the most likely motive.

In addition to describing the fear of being trapped in a hastily sinking boat, the survivors accuse the corporate which ran it, Dive Professional Liveaboard, of a number of protection failings. Additionally they say the Egyptian government had been gradual to react, one thing which will have value lives. We’ve put inquiries to Dive Professional Liveaboard – based totally in Hurghada – and the Egyptian govt, however now not won any answer.

This, for the primary future, is the interior tale of the way the Sea Tale sank, as advised via those that made it out alive.

The luxurious dive boat spark off from Port Ghaleb on Egypt’s Pink Sea Coast on 24 November. On board had been 31 world visitors – most commonly skilled divers – and 3 dive guides, along side 12 Egyptian staff. They had been on a six-day shuttle, with their first vacation spot being Sataya Reef, a usual diving spot.

Like a lot of the ones on board, Lucianna’s first impressions of the Sea Tale had been sure. “It looked like a really nice boat, very big, very clean,” she says, talking from her house in Belgium.

The corporate had transferred over Lucianna and others on the closing negligible from any other boat, which had loads of excellent on-line opinions. A number of visitors had been advised they had been getting an “upgrade” however some had been annoyed as it used to be now not taking to the vacation spot they’d booked.

Situations that night time had been somewhat tough, even though the survivors we told to, together with skilled sailors, say the boat gave the impression extra distracted than they’d have anticipated.

At one level, a couple of hours sooner than the capsizing, a petite inflatable boat slipped off the again of the Sea Tale. A passenger filmed because the staff battled in order it again on board – the oceanographer the BBC told to says the video presentations situations that have been now not peculiar and in line with 1.5m (5ft) waves.

“Looking out at the waves, the weather wasn’t terrible,” says Sarah Martin, an NHS physician from Lancaster who used to be at the shuttle. However, she says, “furniture was sliding around the deck – we asked the crew if it was normal and they just shrugged, so we didn’t realise the danger we were in”.

“I didn’t sleep that night because the boat was rocking so much,” says Hissora Gonzalez, a diver from Spain, whose cabin used to be at the decrease deck.

She describes how the boat rolled sharply a number of occasions till, simply sooner than 03:00, it flipped onto its aspect with a noisy bang, adopted via quiet because the engines died – and overall darkness.

Shouting may quickly be heard coming from alternative cabins, as nation had been thrown from their beds. Possessions had been scattered round, blocking off exits and making retirement tricky. One survivor – who were drowsing outdoor on deck – described being trapped beneath bulky furnishings which had shifted because the boat rolled.

“We couldn’t see anything. I didn’t know if I was walking on the floor, on the ceiling, on the side,” says Hissora. Disoriented, she began having a look round for while jackets. Prior to she may to find one, her buddy Cristhian Cercos shouted at her to run.

That decision might smartly have stored her while. Their cabin used to be at the starboard (proper) of the boat, the aspect that clash the ocean. Just about all the useless or lacking had cabins on that aspect of the boat.

“I could hear the water coming in, but I could not see it,” says Hissora. Their cabin door used to be now at the ceiling – she handiest escaped as a result of Cristhian pulled her up at the 5th effort.

Around the corridor from Hissora, additionally in whole darkness, had been Sarah and her cabin mate Natalia Sanchez Fuster, a dive information. They couldn’t to find the deal with to the cabin door. When Sarah controlled to show at the torch on her telephone she realised “everything was at 90 degrees – the door was on the floor and all our things were blocking it”.

Later clearing the entrance, they joined about 10 others heading for an extremity go in opposition to the bow (entrance) of the boat.

With the boat on its aspect, the gang needed to move slowly alongside the extremity staircase for 2 flooring, time the eating place and eating room at the primary deck. It used to be crisp to search out their method and it gave the impression the contents of the kitchen cabinets had spilled out over the flooring.

“We had to climb along door frames and beams to make our way out,” says Sarah. “It was quite disorienting in the dark and it was very slippery. There was cooking oil and broken eggs everywhere.”

Hissora, simply forward of Sarah, controlled to assemble it to the higher deck. She may pay attention nation screaming in the back of her however didn’t flip round. “I was afraid of looking back and seeing all the water coming in,” she says.

By means of this future, the Sea Tale used to be sinking speedy. Those that had reached the supremacy deck knew they must leap into the aqua – a 2-3m (7-10ft) let fall.

“I was paralysed because Cristhian kept saying to me ‘don’t jump’ because he could see someone was trying to release the life raft,” Hissora recollects.

Sarah used to be in the back of Hissora and determined to get out. “There were other guests holding on to the side, blocking the exit,” she recollects. “We were shouting at them to move out of the way.”

With the aqua emerging speedy, Hissora, Sarah and the accumulation or so nation who had reached the supremacy deck dived into the aqua. They knew the chance used to be now not over but. “If the boat was going down, we needed to get away so it wouldn’t pull us down with it,” says Sarah.

Natalia, who had additionally jumped in, swam across the boat – she heard nation screaming from within the cabins and attempted to worth floating particles to split the home windows, however didn’t be triumphant.

Sarah and Natalia had been some of the few who had grabbed a while jacket sooner than escaping, however Sarah says they weren’t functioning as they must have.

“We noticed the lights weren’t working. Looking back, I don’t think there were any batteries in there.”

It is only one in all a number of protection failings reported via the nation we interviewed.

In overall, we have now spoken to seven of the survivors who were staying at the decrease deck. All of them inform a near-identical tale of the life the boat went over – however now not they all escaped the similar method.

Lucianna Galetta used to be in a cabin in opposition to the again of the decrease deck along with her spouse Christophe Lemmens. They had been simply moments slower than the others in realising the chance. That prolong value them dearly.

“We started to get up and tried to find the life jackets,” says Lucianna. “We opened the door but there was already water in the corridor. I think we panicked as we jumped in and almost drowned.”

Not able to achieve the go on the entrance, Lucianna and Christophe ended up in an breeze patch within the engine room on the stern (rear) of the boat, which used to be nonetheless protruding of the aqua. They didn’t perceive the place they had been till they had been joined within the minute territory, once in a while next, via one of the most dive instructors, Youssef al-Faramawy.

The 3 of them would keep there, sitting on gas tanks, for roughly 35 hours.

Out of doors the boat, Sarah, Hissora and the others who had jumped off in the end discovered the 2 while rafts, which had deployed then the sinking. As they clambered on board, they noticed the boat’s captain and various alternative staff individuals had been already there.

“There should be some supplies in here,” Sarah recollects one of the most alternative visitors pronouncing. All of the nation we told to recall a security briefing citing that the while rafts had meals and aqua in them – however they didn’t, the BBC had been advised.

“We found a torch, but again it didn’t have any batteries. We didn’t have any water or any food,” Sarah says. “There were flares, but they had already been used.”

Sarah additionally says of the 3 blankets on board the raft, one were taken via the captain for himself, depart one for the extra of the staff and any other for the visitors. “We ripped it up and huddled together,” says Sarah.

The rafts had been met via rescue vessels at about 11:00 at the morning of 25 November, about 8 hours then the capsizing. Each they, and the boat, had drifted eastwards.

Again on board the Sea Tale, Lucianna heard the rescue helicopter – however her ordeal used to be a long way from over.

“At this time we were very happy, but we had to wait 27 hours more,” she says.

In spite of the boat having been situated, the rescue struggle used to be gradual to achieve them. “We had no communication with the outside, nothing. No-one tried to see if there was someone alive in there,” Lucianna says.

She tells me there have been moments when darkness and depression overtook her. “I was so ready to die. We didn’t think that someone would come.”

Later a number of hours trapped within the breeze patch, the dive information, Youssef, sought after to effort to swim throughout the boat, however Lucianna and Christophe certain him to not. “Stay with us because they are going to come to get our bodies, so they will find us,” Lucianna recollects telling him.

Ultimately, then just about a life and a part caught within the hull of the Sea Tale, a bright gave the impression within the darkness.

A neighborhood Egyptian diving teacher, Khattab al-Faramawi, who used to be Youssef’s uncle, had braved the demolition, diving throughout the submerged corridors in search of nation. He took Youssef out first, after, then any other month’s prolong as a result of problems with the respiring equipment, returned to supremacy Lucianna and her spouse to protection. “I hugged him so hard,” says Lucianna. “I was very, very happy.”

In overall, 5 nation from the Sea Tale had been rescued via divers, together with a Swiss guy and a Finnish guy who had survived in any other breeze patch inside of their cabin at the decrease deck. 4 our bodies had been recovered.

However Lucianna is significant of the reality the Egyptian army needed to depend on volunteers. “We waited 35 hours. I don’t understand how there are no divers on the Egyptian military boats.”

Lucianna, Christophe and Youssef had been taken on board a ready naval vessel, sooner than going back on shore. They had been the closing to be rescued. No less than 11 nation both died or are lacking, presumed useless.

Between the two of them are Jenny Cawson and Tarig Sinada, a pair from Devon who had been staying at the primary deck, at the aspect of the boat that clash the aqua. Their our bodies have by no means been discovered.

“It doesn’t feel like it’s real,” says Andy Williamson, a chum of the couple. “We keep expecting them to walk through the door.” A year and a part then the sinking, hopes of that going down have all however vanished.

The couple had been skilled divers who all the time in moderation researched the protection report of boats sooner than their journeys. They had been additionally switched directly to the Sea Tale on the closing negligible, one thing that can have in the long run value them dearly.

The BBC told to survivors from just about each and every cabin at the vessel wherein any individual were given out alive. All of them ascertain the boat sank between 02:00 and 03:00. Then again, in keeping with native government, a misery sign used to be now not won till about 05:30 – an extra issue which will have value lives.

5 survivors additionally reported that the bulky furnishings at the supremacy deck used to be unsecured and moved round sooner than the sinking. The lady who were drowsing on deck believes all of it moving to at least one aspect, because the boat began to tumble, additional destabilised the Sea Tale.

The narrative put ahead via Egyptian officers within the speedy aftermath, reported via information businesses all over the world, used to be {that a} abundance stream clash the boat. More than one survivors’ stories within the aqua, simply mins then the capsizing, casts dubiousness on that.

“When we were in the water, the waves weren’t so big that we weren’t able to swim in them,” says Sarah, “so it does leave us wondering why that boat sank.”

The ones suspicions are supported via knowledge.

Dr Simon Boxall is a prominent oceanographer from the College of Southampton. He has analysed the elements from the life which presentations the most important waves had been about 1.5m (5ft) – so he says “there is no way a 4m (13ft) wave could have occurred in that region, at that time”.

The Egyptian Meteorological Authority had warned of top waves at the Pink Sea and recommended towards maritime task on 24 and 25 November. However, in keeping with Dr Boxall, “these were over 200km (120 miles) away to the north of where the vessel went down.”

He says that leaves handiest two choices, both pilot error or an error within the design of the vessel – or a mixture of each.

The United Kingdom’s Marine Strike Investigation Board (MAIB), which is able to in a while post a security bulletin into the sinking, has not too long ago warned divers of issues of safety within the Pink Sea then various incidents – a minimum of two of which concerned the similar corporate, Dive Professional Liveaboard.

The BBC despatched all of the protection issues raised on this article to the Egyptian govt and the corporate, Dive Professional Liveaboard, more than one occasions. We’re but to obtain a reaction from both.

Later the emergency, the Egyptian government in an instant opened an investigation into the sinking. This is but to record, however for the chums of Jenny and Tarig that is about multiple boat.

“We’ve unfortunately had to learn of the dangers of diving in Egypt in the most tragic of circumstances,” says Andy Williamson. “I don’t know how we will ever get over this.

Lucianna wants to understand exactly what went wrong. “We’re fortunate to be alive,” she says. “However there are countless nation who didn’t come again from this and I would like their households so that you could grieve.”

On Wednesday, the survivors inform the BBC about what came about to them then they’d been rescued – and the questions they now have in regards to the legit investigation.