Egypt authorities recover bodies of three British tourists killed in Red Sea boat fire

Egyptian authorities recovered the remains of three missing UK tourists in the Red Sea off the coast of the town of Marsa Alam following a five day search.

The bodies of three tourists were found completely charred inside the wreckage of the boat, according to Al-Masry Al-Youm.

Prosecutors have been notified for an official investigation to commence.

The names of those killed were revealed to be Stephen Hill and Paul Darling and Christina Quinn, according to the organisers of the trip Scuba Travel.

All three, along with the other passengers on the vessel were qualified divers.

Twelve other English tourists who were also on the scuba diving holiday and 14 crew members were rescued from the ship after the fire broke out early on 11 June, the company confirmed.

The three tourists who died had decided to sleep in that day, while the other 12 were attending a briefing on deck when the fire broke out.  Those on deck were able to be immediately evacuated by a nearby boat. 

The captain and two dive guides tried to reach the three missing passengers before the blaze forced them to abandon the ship. 

The boat was located at Elphinstone Reef in the southeast of the Red Sea, one of the many popular diving areas among Egypt’s coastal resorts.

The fire was caused by an electrical short circuit, according to Egyptian authorities.

"Our sincere and heartfelt condolences go out to their families and friends at this very sad time," Scuba Travel said.

The tragedy came just days after a Russian man was mauled to death by a tiger shark, with increasing scrutiny on the safety of tourists in Egypt.