Hospice chief among three Britons named as dead in Egypt boat fire

Christina Quinn was on a scuba diving boat that went up in flames on Sunday

Christina Quinn was confirmed as one of three people who died in a boat fire in Egypt on Sunday. PA

Three Britons who died after a diving boat burst into flames in the Red Sea off Egypt have been identified.

Hospice manager Christina Quinn, Stephen Hill and Paul Darling were on board the Hurricane, a medium-sized scuba diving boat, when it went up in flames off the resort town of Marsa Alam on Sunday.

Ms Quinn, 58, was chief executive at St Luke's Hospice Plymouth, which confirmed on Thursday that she was one of the victims. Personal details of the other two have not yet been released.

In a statement released by the hospice, her family said: “It is with great sadness that we confirm the tragic death of Christina Quinn in Egypt.

“She was a sister, daughter, wife, auntie, friend, and rock to many. “She will be missed beyond words. We would ask for privacy at this time.”

Police said the boat issued a distress signal after a fire broke out because of an electrical problem in its engine room.

At the time the fire started, 12 of 15 divers were having a dive briefing.

The three divers who died, who were all British, were not with the main group because they had decided not to participate in the dive that day.

The 12 tourists who were rescued were able to immediately be moved to another diving vessel in the area.

As the blaze worsened, 14 crew members, including the captain and two dive guides, abandoned the burning Hurricane after trying and failing to find the missing three tourists.

Ms Quinn took up her role as chief executive at St Luke's in May this year after a “long and impactful” career with the NHS, most recently as director of NHS South West Leadership Academy.

Charles Hackett, chairman of St Luke's trustees, said: “Christina was incredibly passionate about St Luke's and its place at the heart of the community it serves, and we are devastated to lose her warmth, wisdom and leadership.

“Before her recent appointment, Christina had served for six years in a voluntary capacity as chair of St Luke's board, working closely with the senior management team and her fellow trustees and earning their respect, trust and appreciation.

“With her vibrant and engaging personality and her down-to-earth, caring nature, as CEO she was quickly building strong and meaningful relationships both inside and outside the organisation.

“We will miss Christina enormously and our hearts go out to her family and close friends at this tragic time.”

A spokesman for Scuba Travel confirmed the deaths of the three Britons and said in a statement to Sky News: “It is with great regret that we, as tour operator, with heavy hearts, must accept that three of our much-valued dive guests, perished in the tragic incident.

“Our sincere and heartfelt condolences go out to their families and friends at this very sad time.”

The three passengers were among 15 qualified diving enthusiasts who were on a week's stay on board the Hurricane when the fire broke out at about 8.30am local time (6.30am UK time).

Egyptian authorities had earlier said that following an initial examination of the vessel it was found that “an electrical short circuit in the boat's engine room sparked the blaze”.

Egypt's Red Sea resorts are some of the country's most renowned beach destinations and are popular with European holidaymakers.

It has cemented its reputation as a dive destination with easy access to coral reefs from shore, and dive sites offering diverse marine life.

The incident came days after a shark attack off the Red Sea resort city of Hurghada killed a 23-year-old Russian man and led to the closure for 48 hours of a 60km stretch of coastline between the resort of El Gouna and Soma Bay to the south.

The shark was caught and will be displayed at a museum.