15 May 2023 , 16:00
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A group of 16 Brits had their dream diving holiday turn into a harrowing nightmare after they were left in a race against time to escape a sinking ship.
Dr Christian Hanson, and a group of friends he’d met at his diving club in Moraira - including the Brits and 10 Europeans - chartered a 137ft yacht into the Red Sea, Egypt.
On what should’ve been a dream holiday, diving from Abu Nuhas to Shag Rock, their ship, the Carlton Queen, suddenly capsized on Monday April 24.
The shocking incident took place in a part of the sea reportedly known as the Egyptian ‘Bermuda Triangle’ and saw Dr Hanson, and a number of others trapped inside the ship as it capsized.
They were caught in a terrifying race against time to escape, before the ship filled up with water and they died.
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The Carlton Queen suddenly began to capsize, leaving the divers on board scrambling for their livesAnd the entire time the 49-year-old software engineer from Rochdale, Greater Manchester, had no clue if his wife, Michelle, was safe or not.
Dr Hanson had been filling out his logbook with two other divers, Helen Merchant and Rob Janssens, after seeing dolphins in the water that morning, when they were suddenly tossed backwards off their seats.
Dr Hanson said: "It was going to be a nice easy crossing … we were discussing the dive then all of a sudden there’s a massive sway in the boat and the tables move towards us and we have to lift our legs up to avoid it crashing into us.
"Then the boat sways a long way the other way … very significantly the other way … it kind of jolts and shudders and we were thrown off the chairs backwards onto the windows.
“The boat’s tipped to about 40 degrees, you can see the bubbles in the water whizzing past the windows that we’re now stood on, the pressure of the water was jetting water through the cracks around the window too.”
As the ship capsized, a number on those on board had to throw themselves into the Red Sea
Dr Christian Hanson a software engineer from Rochdale who is apart of the Spanish diving group who had chartered a boat into the Red Sea (Supplied)With the newly-orientated ship, the trio were trapped inside the salon, with heavy glass doors - that opened outwards - above them and they knew that if water began filling up on top of them they’d be trapped there.
Dr Hanson said they realised then, that they were in a race against time to escape.
Barefoot, Helen and Rob were unable to climb up the room - now on its side - and it wasn’t until a sofa, previously fixed in place, fell off, that Dr Hanson was then able to climb up the room using it.
From there, he was able to jump to a cupboard which brought him close enough to reach the door.
But all the time, as the trio desperately scrambled to escape, water was filling up from beneath them and the ship could’ve turned or sunk suddenly, possibly trapping them forever.
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Three of the divers were trapped in the salon, in a race against time to break the doors and escapeSimultaneously, they could hear the screams of two of their crewmates, father and son duo David, 53, and Christian, 21, who were also trapped, and feared they might not make it out.
Dr Hanson was able to smash the salon door, opening up a potential route out, and as he did, Helen and Rob were able to work together to get Rob up to the cupboard.
From there, the two men were able to get Helen up too. But by this time the water, that was originally three metres below them, was now around Dr Hanson’s hips.
Dr Hanson said: “All the time we must’ve been thinking if this boat turns over we’ll be dead … the windows could’ve shattered, there were so many ways that could’ve trapped us in there.
After getting off the ship the divers were all stuck onto a single life raft that became unstable with so many people piling on“I see my wife [once they had escaped the salon] and Rob says ‘go-go-go’ and I’m swimming to her.”
But as he swam across the sinking ship, the dive tanks, once on a wall, were now suspended above his head held in place by small belts.
They made it out to the life rafts alive, thanks to their clear thinking and quick action.
Dr Hanson stressed to the Mirror that had those on board the ship not been mostly vastly experienced divers and instructors of various levels, there would've almost definitely been casualties.
A number of the divers were left less than impressed with the actions of the crew and captain, who were first onto the life rafts, failed to tether them to the ship wreckage to keep them in place, and then, they said, did nothing to save them all as the ship went down around them.
After escaping, the divers lost their passports and had to undergo days of uncertainty before they were able to get back homeDr Hanson said some were praying whilst others were simply inactive, leaving the vastly experienced divers to save themselves.
What followed were days of chaos as the divers fought to get some compensation for having lost all their belongings, and passports, which sank to the bottom of the Red Sea.
They were eventually able to travel home days later using emergency documents, but have still been left with little long-term help from the touring company.
But even before the dramatic capsizing, Dr Hanson had been left wondering if all was right on the ship.
In the days before April 24, he, along with a few other divers, noticed the ship was listing noticeably - when the ship tilts to one side.
The Captain and crew assured him this was just because it had not yet taken on enough water, as the ship was new.
They were even assured everything was fine a matter of hours before Dr Hanson, and two other crew members, Helen and Rob, were trapped in the salon as it filled up with water, leaving them seemingly unable to escape.
When approached for comment on the incident, Carlton Fleet said it was “deeply saddened”, but claimed the ship had been “fit for operations as confirmed by technical reports”.
It also claimed that some reports about the crew members’ handling of the situation was “ill-founded” and that they saved the lives of everyone on board - something the divers contested strongly.
It claimed all safety protocols were followed and did not reply to follow-up questions from the Mirror challenging these claims.
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