Before tragedy struck in the Red Sea, a Russian doctor shared one final conversation with his father — an exchange that would soon be marked by heartbreak.
A family vacation turned tragic for doctors Kristina and Ravil Valiullin, a couple from Urussu, Tatarstan. On March 21, they traveled to Egypt with their daughters, aged 10 and 15, for a long-awaited holiday. While exploring the underwater world on a bathyscaphe tour, disaster struck, according to the Russian publication Woman.
Early reports from the Russian publication stated that both Kristina and Ravil were initially believed to be among the deceased. The family had planned to return to Russia on April 1, and in their absence, Kristina’s mother stayed behind to look after their home.
News of their presumed deaths caused immediate concern and sorrow in their hometown of Urussu.
As confusion grew around the identities of the victims, Liliya Galimova, head of the press service of the RT Raisa, said, “I can neither confirm nor deny. Since we rely on information that comes directly from the scene, from Egypt. As we can see, the information there is constantly changing. Apparently, time is needed. We will wait for clarification.”
The situation shifted dramatically hours later. According to SHOT, a Russian media outlet reporting via Telegram on March 27, Kristina and her two daughters survived the incident. Egyptian authorities had mistakenly listed Kristina among the deceased but later corrected the error.
Her husband, Ravil, a 40-year-old anesthesiologist-resuscitator, was confirmed among the six Russian nationals who died in the accident. Local officials stated that 50 people from Russia, India, Norway, and Sweden were aboard the submersible. Seven Russian citizens remain under close medical supervision.
Back in Urussu, the tragedy has left a deep mark. Kristina, a 38-year-old pediatrician, and her late husband were well-known in the community for their dedication and compassion.
Their colleagues, struggling through tears, recalled how Kristina and Ravil had been inseparable since medical school and worked together for six years at the local hospital. “They were gold, not people! They loved each other very much,” they said.
Ravil’s father also shared a memory from his final conversation with his son before the trip. “They said they were going on an underwater excursion with the whole family. They wanted to show the children the fish,” he said.
Minnullin called Kristina and Ravil “highly qualified specialists” who worked with professionalism and dignity, and said their loss was a great one for both the local community and the region’s healthcare system.
The Valiullin family’s tragedy was part of a larger incident previously covered by the BBC, which drew the attention of local authorities.
The devastating maritime incident unfolded early Thursday, March 27, 2025, off the coast of Hurghada, a popular Egyptian resort city along the Red Sea, where a tourist submarine reportedly sank with approximately 40 people on board.
In a report released at 12:28 p.m. local time, the outlet confirmed that at least six people are feared dead.
Nine others were reported injured, with four individuals listed in critical condition and rushed to nearby medical facilities. Of the 40 tourist passengers believed to be on board, 29 were able to be rescued.
Just two minutes later (at 12:30 p.m.), the BBC’s Cairo-based team identified the vessel as Sindbad, a long-operating tour submarine known for its underwater excursions. The outlet also assured readers that more updates would follow.
According to the submarine company’s website, Sindbad Submarines is dedicated to creating lasting memories through immersive aquatic adventures.
By mid-afternoon, further updates from the BBC offered a clearer picture of the scene unfolding in Hurghada. At 3:11 p.m., new images showed police presence outside the Egyptian Hospital, where those injured in the sinking had been taken.
While earlier reports confirmed nine injuries — four of them critical — the somber visuals of law enforcement stationed at the facility underscored the severity of the situation and the urgency still gripping the area.
Shortly after, at 3:31 p.m., the BBC addressed potential speculation surrounding the weather’s role in the disaster. Meteorological data from a nearby site in Hurghada indicated that wind speeds were light, measured at just 5 mph, and there were no signs of low cloud coverage or turbulent conditions.
With wave heights estimated at a mere 0.2 meters, the sea was reportedly calm at the time of the incident — casting further mystery over what may have caused the submarine to suddenly go under.
Additional images released at 3:50 p.m. revealed a fleet of ambulances stationed at the harbor, a visual testament to the swift and large-scale emergency response.
In one of the photographs, a second Sindbad submarine was seen docked nearby, though it was confirmed that this vessel had no involvement in the morning’s tragedy.
A tourist staying at the nearby Sindbad Club shared their firsthand account with the BBC, divulging, “We heard the ambulance sirens which lasted a long time and there are still at least three ambulances at the harbour [sic].”
In the hours following the incident, local media also began to weigh in. According to Al-Masry Al-Youm, an Egyptian news outlet, all relevant agencies have been actively monitoring the situation since the tragedy occurred.
The report, originally written in Arabic and loosely translated into English, noted that multiple ambulances were immediately dispatched to the scene, underscoring the scale of the emergency response.
However, the outlet emphasized that the causes and circumstances of the accident have not yet been revealed, further deepening the uncertainty surrounding what led to the sudden sinking of the tourist submarine.
Further insight into the aftermath of the sinking has emerged through visual documentation shared by Al-Masry Al-Youm on Instagram. The Egyptian news outlet posted a short video clip that captured the calm yet haunting waters off Hurghada, where various vessels could be seen stationed in the vicinity of the incident.
The footage shows several boats positioned near the shoreline, likely part of the ongoing emergency response or affiliated with the operation of the Sindbad submarine tour.
By late afternoon, conflicting reports began to emerge surrounding the nationalities and number of victims. At 4:10 p.m., the BBC relayed a statement from Viktor Voropaev, Russia’s consul general in Hurghada, who confirmed to state-run news agency Tass that at least five Russian nationals had died in the submarine tragedy — among them, two children.
This update slightly diverged from earlier figures shared by the Russian Embassy in Cairo, which had initially reported four fatalities, noting that all passengers aboard the vessel were Russian citizens.
In a formal statement, the Russian Embassy in Cairo addressed the unfolding crisis, reiterating the tragic occurrence of the incident and providing additional context surrounding the victims and ongoing response.
In their message, which is written in Russian, the embassy officials confirmed that many of the Russian nationals on the submarine were clients of the Biblio Globus travel company. They noted that diplomats from the Russian Consulate General had arrived at the Sindbad hotel pier to assist with the situation directly.
While assuring that most of those rescued were in stable condition and receiving appropriate care, the embassy acknowledged that the status of several individuals was still being verified. Additionally, they said that there were a total of 45 tourists, contradicting a previous account of 40.
As of the most recent update, Red Sea Governor Amr Hanafy has confirmed that six tourists lost their lives in the incident, while 39 others were successfully rescued.
In a statement shared via Facebook, Hanafy assured the public that no individuals remain unaccounted for — a detail that brings a measure of closure to a day marked by uncertainty. He added that an official investigation is now underway to determine the exact cause of the accident.
