Search called off for British couple missing after yacht hit by wave

Hope that a British couple who vanished in Egypt’s Red Sea after their yacht was struck by an ‘abnormally large’ wave has grown smaller and smaller.

Jenny Cawson, 36, and her husband Tarig Sinada, 49, are among seven passengers still unaccounted for after the incident in the early hours of November 25.

Search for the pair, from Ashburton, Devon, has now been called off, after more than week, it has been reported.

A diver who participated in the rescue operations told The Times that the search was ‘totally’ called off, but there has been no confirmation from the coastguards.

‘The search then shifted to the surface of the water,’ the diver said, adding that the water where the boat capsized was approximately 100 metres deep.

‘After three or four days, once decomposition and bloating occur, the bodies float to the surface, and then the current carries them to the shore.’

This comes after another diver said on Friday that sharks – drawn to the area by the scent of food inside the vessel – are circling the wreckage.

Two British nationals were among 28 people who were rescued on the day of the incident, with some airlifted to hospital for treatment.

Five more were pulled out alive a day later, having survived in air pockets inside the cabins of the boat.

Divers also discovered the remains of four other people inside the vessel.

Egyptian authorities announced last week that there were no other bodies inside the yacht.

As a result, they expanded the search area to the open sea using aerial surveys and frigates from the naval forces.

Survivors described the terrifying moments they were left ‘helpless’ to swim in the dark.

Got a story? Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk. Or you can submit your videos and pictures here.

For more stories like this, check our news page.

Follow Metro.co.uk on Twitter and Facebook for the latest news updates. You can now also get Metro.co.uk articles sent straight to your device. Sign up for our daily push alerts here.