The Red Sea, renowned for its coral reefs and marine life, is a major hub for Egypt's tourism industry, a pillar of the economy.

At least six Russian tourists, two of them children, died when an Egyptian commercial submarine carrying 50 people sank in the Red Sea near the resort city of Hurghada. The Red Sea Governorate said the submarine had 50 people on board, 45 tourists and five crew, Reuters reported.

A recreational submarine taking 45 tourists on an underwater cruise of coral reefs in the Red Sea sank off the Egyptian resort town of Hurghada on Thursday, leaving six Russians dead, the provincial governor said.

In Egypt's Red Sea, a crew on a sightseeing submarine tour managed to escape when the vessel began sinking — but some of the tourists on board were not so lucky. As the BBC reports, authorities are questioning the crew of the Sindbad submarine after it foundered during a coral reef tour near the beach town of Hurghada in southeastern Egypt.

Six Russians died on Thursday and 39 foreign tourists were rescued when a viewing submarine sank off the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Hurghada, the local governor's office said on Facebook, adding that no passengers or crew were still missing.

The crew of a recreational submarine that sank off the Egyptian Red Sea coast killing six Russian tourists and injuring nine other passengers have been questioned by authorities in Egypt amid an ongoing investigation.