Imogen James
Live reporter

Image source, Mike Cartwright

At about 10:00 local time (08:00 GMT), a tourist submarine sank in the Egyptian Red Sea, off the coast of Hurghada. Our live coverage is ending now, so here's everything we know - and don't know:

What we know:

Six people, all Russian, died after the tourist vessel sank around one kilometre from the coast. The local governor said 39 tourists were rescued, and nobody is missing.

The 45 tourists were from Russia, Norway, Sweden and India, the governor said, along with five Egyptian crew members.

The company in charge, Sindbad, has cancelled upcoming trips and authorities are investigating.

A number of people have got in touch with the BBC to share their experiences on Sindbad submarines - this tourist shared footage from their trip this past weekend.

What we don't know:

We still don't know what caused the sinking.

Speaking to Russian media, a survivor said that as they took their reserved seats, water started "pouring in" as two hatches were open. She said it was as if the submarine had fallen off "whatever it was holding on to".

(Earlier, we learned that tourists are taken out to the submarine - which is docked at a floating platform - on a regular boat).

But other unconfirmed reports said the vessel hit a reef at 20 metres and lost pressure.

For more on the who, what, where, when and why, here's our explainer. Thanks for reading.

Just last week, tourist Roy Gillson took a trip on a Sindbad submarine in Egypt.

He says they enjoyed the trip, but "looking back we had no safety drill whatsoever".

(We earlier heard from a different tourist who said they listened to a recorded safety briefing).

Watch his footage from their trip below:

It's still not known what caused the Sindbad submarine to sink. One report, from the Association of Tour Operators of Russia, suggested the vessel may have hit a reef at a depth of around 20 metres.

A woman now tells Russian outlet Ren TV, in a phone interview, that water flowed into hatches as passengers boarded the submarine.

Ekaterina says as they took their reserved seats, water started "pouring in" as two hatches were open.

She says it was as if the submarine had fallen off "whatever it was holding on to". Earlier, we learned that tourists are taken out to the submarine, which is docked at a floating platform.

Some managed to swim out and some didn't, she says. Her daughter and mother are in hospital, she adds.

We're beginning to get details of those injured and killed in today's incident.

Two people who died are from the village of Urussu, in the Russian republic of Tatarstan, the republic's authorities tell Russian media.

They were married doctors, and their two daughters are in hospital, the authorities add.

As a reminder, the Red Sea governor earlier said all six who died are Russian citizens.

We still don't know what caused the Sindbad submarine to sink in the Red Sea.

But according to a Telegram post from the Association of Tour Operators of Russia, "unconfirmed reports" say the submarine hit a reef and lost pressure.

The collision happened at a depth of 20 metres (65 feet), the post adds. The company website says it takes tourists to a maximum depth of 25 metres.

The post adds that all excursions and ticket sales for the tours have been suspended, and all other recreational submersible dives off the Hurghada coast have been cancelled.

We've been receiving pictures from people who have been on the Sindbad excursion in recent weeks.

These are from one of the two submarines the company says it owns - we don't know if this is the specific submarine involved in today's incident.

Image source, Jonathan Clough

Image source, Jonathan Clough

Image source, Jonathan Clough

Image source, Dr James Aldridge

We've spoken to Dr James Aldridge, from Bristol, who took a trip on the submarine last month.

This is how he described the excursion:

First, tourists are taken out on a boat to the submarine, which is at a floating dock.

There are two entry points, he says, and the tourists then climb into the vessel. Inside, he describes it as modern, clean, and well-maintained.

Once inside, the tourists sit down on a cushion next to their assigned window and listened to a recorded safety briefing. He says it wasn't overcrowded.

They toured the reef for 40 minutes, and Aldridge says he "never felt unsafe". He says they never went to the depths of 25 metres that the company says is possible.

Divers who went alongside the submarine used fish food to attract marine life, so there would be more for the guests to see.

They were not issued life jackets, and "at all times the staff were professional and knowledgeable", he says.

Image source, Dr James Aldridge

The question is why these incidents keep happeningpublished at 15:27 Greenwich Mean Time 27 March

15:27 GMT 27 March

Sally Nabil
Reporting from Cairo

We don't know yet what caused this submarine to sink. But the question is why these incidents are still happening frequently in this area.

The frequency of these tragedies raises questions about the security measures employed by the local authorities, especially by excursion companies.

The Red Sea resort is a very popular tourist destination - but this tragedy will deal a very, very heavy blow to the industry, which is a lifeline to the Egyptian economy.

The industry is also highly dependent on Russian tourists, and all those who died were Russian, the local governor says.

Wael Hussein
Reporting from Cairo

We're getting more information from the Red Sea governor, Amr Hanafy.

He says there were 45 passengers on board, plus five Egyptian crew.

The passengers were from Russia, India, Norway and Sweden. The six killed were Russians, he says.

Earlier, the Russian embassy in Egypt said all the passengers were Russian.

We can bring you more now from the Red Sea governor.

Amr Hanafy says the submarine involved had a valid licence and the crew leader obtained the correct "scientific certificates".

The company, Sindbad, has been operating for several years and owns two submarines, according to its website.

In a new update, the Red Sea area governor says six tourists are dead and 39 others have been rescued.

There are no tourists missing, Amr Hanafy adds in an update on Facebook.

The authorities are investigating the cause of the accident, he says.

Hanafy praises the rescue teams involved in the incident, and says they will continue to coordinate with the relevant embassies and parties.

A video alongside the post shows him speaking to families and individuals in hospital, wrapped in blankets.

There's a lot of boating activity around Hurghada harbour near where the submarine sank.

The below video shows vessels on the water today, as well as the clear skies and calm conditions we mentioned earlier.

A Russian official in Hurghada, Viktor Voropaev, says at least five Russians were killed in the submarine accident, including two children.

Voropaev - Russia's consul general in the Red Sea resort - was speaking to Tass, the state-owned Russian news agency.

BBC reporters in Egypt say six people are feared dead. Earlier, the Russian embassy in Egypt said four people had been killed, and that all passengers on board were Russian.

Emma Pengelly
Reporter

We're now seeing more pictures from Hurghada, where ambulances have gathered after a tourist submarine sank off the popular resort's coast.

In the second image, you can see a second Sindbad vessel docked in the harbour. This isn't the same vessel involved in this morning's incident.

A tourist staying at the Sindbad Club in Hurghada, who wishes to remain anonymous, tells the BBC: "We heard the ambulance sirens which lasted a long time and there are still at least three ambulances at the harbour."

Image source, Supplied

Image source, Supplied

Darren Bett
BBC weather presenter

Weather observations are very sparse in the Red Sea. There is a weather site at Hurghada that was reporting very light winds – around 5mph and no low cloud early this morning.

It can be windy in the Red Sea when a northerly wind blows and the seas become rough. But it looks like the weather was quite calm this morning with wave heights nearby around 0.2m, so no sign of any rough waters.

As we've been reporting, a number of people have been taken to hospital following the incident.

In new pictures, we can see police waiting outside the Egyptian Hospital in Hurghada. Sources earlier told the BBC that nine people were injured, four critically.

Image source, Reuters

Joe Inwood
BBC correspondent

I've been hearing from Dr Simon Boxall, from the National Oceanography Centre at Southampton University.

He's been telling me a bit more about these types of vessels. According to the tour company Sindbad, the submarines were built in Finland - Boxall says he isn't sure if this is true but if it is, they will have been built to very high standards.

There is an "intense nature" in operating these vessels, he adds.

If a submarine runs into a problem, it will either surface quickly, or get the passengers out as soon as possible before it drops down too far, Boxall explains.

It is still early days, and we are yet to hear of any potential cause of this incident.

But Boxall says Egypt is facing a "crisis on at the moment, in terms of safety on some of these tourist vessels".

Whatever the cause of today's incident, Boxall says it's a "terrible tragedy".

Image source, Sindbad Submarines

As we've been reporting, a tourist submarine has sunk in Egypt. Here are the details:

Who: At least six people are feared dead, with nine injured and 29 rescued, sources tell the BBC. All passengers on board are Russian, according to Moscow's embassy in Egypt.

What: The vessel is believed to be operated by Sindbad Submarines, and the submarine has been operating tourist trips for several years.

When: The incident happened this morning at around 10:00 local time, according to the Russian embassy.

Where: Sindbad, the submarine, sank close to the harbour in Hurghada, a popular tourist resort in the Red Sea known for its beaches and coral reefs.

How: We don't know yet what caused the submarine to sink, but our teams in London and Egypt are trying to find out what happened.

Sally Nabil
Reporting from Cairo

It’s the second incident in the Red Sea in around six months.

Last November, a boat named Sea Story carrying more than 40 people also sank near the Egyptian resort of Marsa Allam, with 11 people unaccounted, or presumed dead.

Today, six people are feared to have died, with others injured, after a submarine sank in Hurghada, another famous tourist resort.

Reasons behind this latest tragedy are not clear yet. But the frequency of such incidents raise big questions about safety measures employed by local authorities, in such popular tourist sea excursion areas, and whether or not proper safety checks are being carried out.

Back in November, Egyptian officials were talking about rough weather conditions causing the Sea Story to sink.

But the BBC spoke to survivors, who cast doubt on the claim.

It's a pretty warm, sunny day in Egypt now. We don't know yet what the authorities will say caused the incident in Hurghada.

The local governorate's office in Hurghada tells the Reuters news agency that six foreigners, whose nationalities are unknown, were killed in the Red Sea submarine incident.

That tallies with the BBC's reporters in Egypt, who also say six people are feared dead.

The Russian embassy in Egypt says at least four people were killed, and that all tourists on board were Russian.