DiveSafe

Operator

Tornado Marine Fleet

Vessel

Hurricane

Date

11 June 2023

Location

Elphinstone Reef, Egypt

Fatalities

3

According to Divernet, fire broke out around 6.30am on 11 June 2023 aboard the liveaboard Hurricane, part of the Tornado Marine Fleet and chartered in the UK by tour operator Scuba Travel, during a dive briefing near the end of a trip out of Port Ghalib to Elphinstone Reef. Three British divers who had opted out of that morning's dive were declared dead: Christina Quinn, 58, chief executive of St Luke's Hospice, Plymouth; Stephen Hill; and Paul Darling. The other 12 British divers present for the briefing were evacuated by RIB to a nearby vessel along with the 14 Egyptian crew. The Red Sea Governorate's initial examination pointed to an electrical short circuit in the engine room; no full accident report was released. A UK inquest into Hill's death, held at Kent and Medway Coroner's Court on 30 October 2025, recorded that the cause of death could not be ascertained but that death likely resulted from prolonged exposure to heat and the effects of the fire fumes; the coroner said it had not been possible to obtain any documentation from Egypt. BBC News reported that Christina Quinn's inquest was being handled separately by Hertfordshire Coroner Service.