Survivors of a boat that capsized in the Red Sea say they were pressured to sign official witness statements in Arabic – which they did not understand and which were translated from English by a ferry company employee.
They said the man also tried to get them to sign a waiver stating that they do not accuse anyone of “criminality”.
The 11 survivors who spoke to the BBC also accused the Egyptian authorities of trying to hide what happened, saying that the investigators are determined to blame this on a big wave.
The Sea Story was carrying 46 people when it sank in the early hours of November 25 last year – four bodies were found and seven people are still missing, including two British divers.
Neither the Egyptian government nor the boat operators – Dive Pro Liveaboard, based in Hurghada – responded to our questions.
On Tuesday, the BBC revealed many of the survivors’ allegations of security failures on the ship. A leading oceanographer who analyzes weather data also said that it was unlikely that there was a huge wave that hit the ship.
‘Investigations’ in hospital beds
A few hours after they were brought to the beach, the survivors said they were interrogated, some in their beds, by people who were told they were judges.
Those who did not require hospital treatment were interviewed at a nearby resort, said other survivors, who reported similar feelings of oppression.
“We’ve been told we can’t leave the room until they’ve done everyone’s statements,” said Sarah Martin, an NHS doctor in Lancashire.
The jury was part of an Egyptian investigation into what caused the sinking – although survivors say it is unclear who was in charge.
Survivors say having their initial statements translated into Arabic by an employee of the company that manages Sea Story was an obvious conflict of interest.
Spanish diver Hissora Gonzalez said the man did not initially introduce himself as an employee. “He just said, ‘You have to tell me what happened, and then you have to sign this paper.’
It wasn’t until later, several people we spoke to said, that the man told them he worked for Dive Pro Liveaboard.
The survivors said that, after being translated by the man, their statements were given to investigators – something that shocked Lisa Wolf. “A common judge cannot take an interpretation from someone who is clearly fully involved in the process.”
“They could have written anything. I don’t know what I signed,” Frøydis Adamson told the BBC. [Frøydis Adamson]
One survivor, a Norwegian police detective, said he had “no idea” what the four pages of Arabic were returned to him. “They could have written anything. I don’t know what I signed,” explained Frøydis Adamson. Under his signature he says he wrote that he could not read the papers.
“We were still scared and wanted to go home,” said Hissora.
‘Issue of credit document’
The boatmen’s representatives, Dive Pro Liveaboard, have also repeatedly tried to push people to sign a waiver – said survivors – which would have seen them agree to this statement: “I am not accusing anyone of any criminal act.”
Justin Hodges, an American diver who was also rescued, told us of the “release of credit”, written in English, he was given when he made his statement.
He said he thought the person he was talking to was an “executive” but found out he was working for a company.
“He was joining the ranks,” said Justin. “The fact that he tried to get us out of the case at that time was crazy to me.”
At least some of the people we spoke to did not sign the document.
Everyone we spoke to said they were not allowed to keep copies of their statements, but the BBC was told that some people were able to translate the texts on their phones. Many of those told us that key, incriminating information they had passed on verbally was left out of the papers.
“It’s all about the state of the rafts and safety issues on the boat,” Lisa said.
Sarah and Hissora report similar experiences. “They just put whatever they want,” Hissora said.
‘The only bond is the sea’
The survivors also said that the authorities seemed determined to blame the disaster on a large wave from the beginning.
This is despite the fact that many rescuers said the waves were not big enough to prevent them from swimming. A leading mariner told the BBC that weather data at the time from a nearby airport strongly supported the survivors’ memory.
Hissora asked if he could finally see a copy of the investigators’ final report, but he says he was told there was no need. “[It’s like] they already knew that the cause was the wave,” he said.
When he asked again, Hissora said he was told that “only the sea is responsible for this”. He believes that the authorities had already made up their minds before the investigation began.
Hissora’s concern is echoed by Sarah, who says the judges were also “very keen” that the survivors did not blame anyone for the accident.
Many survivors say they were told that if they want to accuse anyone, they must name the person and the specific crime they are accused of.
“Just because I can’t name the person and the crime, it doesn’t mean that no one is guilty,” said Sarah.
Dive Pro Liveaboard’s last-ditch effort to get survivors to sign a waiver was made as one group tried to make it to Cairo, Justin said.
Since they lost their passports at sea, he says the group was told by a company representative that the documents they were being presented with were clearance papers to pass through the checkpoints.
“But then I come to the end and the last sentence is the same release of the question of guilt,” – a repeat of the one he said he was asked to sign when he gave his witness statement.
Justin says he went to warn others and, when he returned to the man he believed was trying to mislead him, the documents had “magically disappeared” and been replaced by other official documents.
“My blood was boiling,” he said.
The BBC has never seen the waiver documents or copies of them.
A couple from the UK are still missing
Among the missing are two Britons, Jenny Cawson and Tarig Sinada from Devon.
“They were kind souls, very caring and generous,” said Andy Williamson, a friend of the couple.
He says that their family always receives incomplete and inaccurate news from the Egyptian government.
For example, after the disaster they said they were told that the boat has not been found – even though they saw on TV that the survivors of the accident were brought to the shore. They are asking for an open investigation.
“It looks like the Egyptian authorities are doing their best to sweep this under the carpet,” said Andy. “They want to protect their tourism industry.”
Tarig and Jenny are still missing [BBC]
In March, a fire on another Dive Pro Liveaboard boat – the Sea Legend – killed a German tourist.
Last year, Maritime Survey International, an independent consultancy, produced a report on the safety of diving boats in the Red Sea. It inspected eight vessels, although it did not include any used by Dive Pro Liveaboard, and found that none had a “scheduled maintenance plan, safety management plan or stability manual”, which is an important document to avoid capsizing.
It also found that design standards were “poor as all ships lack bulkheads, doors and hatches”.
It concluded that none of the vessels were safe and that the dive boat industry in Egypt was “running its trade unregulated”.
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