Fire on safari boat Suzana in Egypt (Red Sea Aggressor)

[Ken Kurtis]

You cannot kill 39 people and keep it secret.

I'm gonna nitpick here because facts matter (and John, you should know better):
1. 34 fatalities, not 39.
2. And "You cannot kill . . ." is rather accusatory, don't cha think? How about "34 people can't die and it's kept secret."

 

[Laurie S.]

I was in Alor, Indonesia at Alami Alor Resort when the Conception fire occurred. We had news of it there. I had just been on Blue Horizon in the Red Sea two weeks earlier for my first liveaboard. I remember being very concerned as to what we would have to do, if there were a fire since we were on the bottom deck, furthest back cabin. But, they did give us a thorough safety briefing and I remember seeing the large fire extinguisher opposite the door to our cabin so I felt okay. However, I think I'll pass on further liveaboards. Two years ago, I had thought about doing a California liveaboard for the weekend, but was not comfortable with the way the sleeping bunks were set up. The boat was the Conception.

 

[scubadada]

Awful lot of assumptions being made here about what the crew "absolutely knew" based on zero evidence. There's a world of difference between (1) What it covered in Egypt, and (2) If it was, did the crew see the coverage?

Horrific as the Conception disaster was, I have plenty of friends around the world, all divers, who said it was only fleetingly covered in their local media.

And to reverse this notion about who knew what and when, given the Conception tragedy, wouldn't you think EVERYONE certainly in SoCal would be aware of the RS1 fire, especially given the similarity of circumstances? And the answer is, based on my interactions with people, that probably 95% of the people I've talked to in the last few days were not aware of the RS1 incident.

So "everyone knows" is NOT a good assumption IMHO. (But everyone knows that . . .)

There's very little information in the press. Most of the information, including eye witnesses, is here, on SB. The Conception was all over the news, probably because it happened and was reported in the US

 

[ReefHound]

Awful lot of assumptions being made here about what the crew "absolutely knew" based on zero evidence. There's a world of difference between (1) What it covered in Egypt, and (2) If it was, did the crew see the coverage?

Horrific as the Conception disaster was, I have plenty of friends around the world, all divers, who said it was only fleetingly covered in their local media.

And to reverse this notion about who knew what and when, given the Conception tragedy, wouldn't you think EVERYONE certainly in SoCal would be aware of the RS1 fire, especially given the similarity of circumstances? And the answer is, based on my interactions with people, that probably 95% of the people I've talked to in the last few days were not aware of the RS1 incident.

So "everyone knows" is NOT a good assumption IMHO. (But everyone knows that . . .)

With all due respect, and I'm not just paying lip service to that because I know your credentials and reputation, it doesn't really matter if some person on the street or even some typical diver has not heard of the Concepcion or RS1 fires because it is not their job to protect divers from fire on a boat.

I think the point is that the crew *should* have know about it because it's their business. And it would be hard to imagine that the Aggressor management and ownership did not know about it. It is their responsibility to see that the information - or at least the corrective measures and extra emphasis on fire safety - get passed down the line.

 

[mcohen1021]

I'm sure I'll keep some laughing for some time, but I don't care. I think ensuring that you have a life vest each in your room and wearing it if you leave in any emergency will work better. For $17 and 10 ounces, I'd suggest taking the smoke & CO alarm on any overnight trip, anywhere.

Not bad ideas... I saw more than a few people sleeping with their doors open on the Socorro Aggressor, I just figured they were hot or cold and were trying to regulate the room temp faster or hear the bell for the next dive.

 

[mcohen1021]

9 of the crew have been arrested: 9 crew members of the Marsa Alam burned boat imprisoned on charges of negligence and manslaughter | Hurghadians

Does anyone know who were the members arrested?

 

[outofofficebrb]

I was in Alor, Indonesia at Alami Alor Resort when the Conception fire occurred. We had news of it there.

Having been to the Red Sea and Alor, my guess is the source of news that the locals use would not have covered it much or at all and that it is more likely an expat working there or tourist such as myself heard/read about it on a news provider website/message board, etc. that they normally use regularly at home then shared the info.

 

[ivy202]

Thank you so much for bringing us your story. I do hope that you are able to stand firm as you endure possible opposition from this company. Their actions before and after the horrible fire were pathetic. I am sorry for your losses, especially your friend.


If they have the nerve to show up, I wish I could be there to help drive them out.

Thank you so much for bringing us your story. I do hope that you are able to stand firm as you endure possible opposition from this company. Their actions before and after the horrible fire were pathetic. I am sorry for your losses, especially your friend.


If they have the nerve to show up, I wish I could be there to help drive them out.

Thanks DandyDon! I will do my best - I have the truth on my side and 17 other survivors with similar experiences...I hope we will bring about some serious safety changes for all divers.

 

[drjtprice]

In the UK Press it, was for one day only and then not headline news

The Media saturates coverage of stories that is of interest their audience. "World news" tends to get pushed to one side.

So I can see how most outlets wouldn't cover an incident to a CA dive boat, unless it was catering to a diving specific audience

But it has now been covered at length in Diver magazine (UK), it can just take a while with publication deadlines.

 

[DavidFL]

If you search (I use Google search) 'Red Sea Aggressor fire', and your returns match mine, you will get nothing relevant. If you search 'Fire on Egypt Dive Boat' you will get only two hits that are this recent fire, the second of which is this thread on Scubaboard. The first hit only has the Suzana name for the boat. Seems pretty amazing to me in this connected age, but there appears to be zero connection anywhere but here (and presumably the upcoming Undercurrent) between 'Suzana' and 'Red Sea Aggressor 1'.