A survivor of a yacht that sunk off the coast of Egypt has told how he narrowly escaped disaster. Those onboard were forced to swim in the dark after the boat capsized on Monday, caught in large waves.

Five people have been found alive and four bodies have been recovered after a tourist boat sank in the Red Sea off the coast of Egypt. Two Belgians, one Finn, one Swiss and one Egyptian national have been rescued, the governor of the Red Sea region Amr Hanafi has said. The nationalities of the four bodies recovered are unknown.

Rescuers on Tuesday recovered five survivors and four bodies from a dive boat that capsized off Egypt's eastern coast a day earlier, Red Sea governor Amr Hanafi said.Nationally, the tourism sector employs two million people and generates more than 10 percent of its GDP.

Egyptian authorities are searching for 17 people missing after a tourist boat sank off the country’s Red Sea coast.

Egyptian authorities said more than a dozen people, mostly foreigners, were still missing after a tourist yacht capsized in the Red Sea on Monday, with 28 others rescued.