Six students died and 24 others were injured during a school trip to Abu Talat Beach in Alexandria, Egypt, on Saturday, August 23, 2025. The tragedy occurred when students from an aviation hospitality academy entered the Mediterranean waters and were caught in dangerous currents.
According to Al Masry Al Youm, the incident began when a female student left the group activity on the shore and entered the water alone. When she began drowning, lifeguards and rescue teams rushed to save her. However, more than 100 other students attempted to enter the sea to help their colleague, and many were caught in the powerful waves.
Emergency services dispatched 16 fully equipped ambulances immediately to the scene. Six students were pronounced dead at the beach, while three others received treatment on site. An additional 21 students were transported to nearby hospitals for medical care.
The injured students were divided between two medical facilities. Thirteen were taken to Agami Specialized Hospital and eight to Al-Amreya General Hospital. All hospitalized students were being treated for drowning-related asphyxia and remained under the care of specialized medical teams.
Five of the deceased victims have been identified as Habeeba El-Sayed, Nour Mamdouh, Salma Essam, Fares Yasser and Wessa Sawiris, all aged 16. A sixth body was recovered from the water but has not yet been identified. The group consisted mostly of teenagers aged between 16 and 18.
Khaled Abdel-Ghaffar, Egypt’s Minister of Health and Population, indicated he was closely monitoring the situation and noted that families affected by the event would receive the health ministry’s full support. The minister also confirmed that emergency treatment was being made available to all students.
Following the incident, officials in Alexandria ordered the immediate closure of Abu Talat Beach. Red warning flags were raised across the area to indicate hazardous sea conditions and prohibit swimming due to dangerous wave conditions and strong currents. The flags had already been in place before the incident occurred.
Egypt’s Ministry of Health and Population renewed its call for the public to follow beach safety guidelines, particularly during group outings. The ministry emphasized that prevention remains the best way to save lives and stated it “urges the public to adhere to safety guidelines on beaches.”
Authorities have launched an investigation into the tragedy to determine what exactly happened and whether proper safety measures were in place during the school trip. The circumstances surrounding how so many students ended up in distress in the water simultaneously remain unclear.
The incident highlights ongoing concerns about tourism safety in Egypt, particularly along the Mediterranean coast. Drowning incidents often spike during summer months in Egypt, especially along the Mediterranean, where rougher sea conditions heighten the danger for swimmers.
This tragedy occurred just months after another maritime incident in Egyptian waters. In March, six tourists died when the Sindbad pleasure submarine sank off the Egyptian resort city of Hurghada in the Red Sea. That vessel was carrying 45 tourists and five Egyptian crew members when it went down. All six fatalities were Russian nationals, while 29 of the 39 people rescued sustained injuries requiring hospital treatment.
According to the World Health Organization, approximately 300,000 annual drowning deaths occur worldwide. Children face the highest risk, with those under age five accounting for nearly a quarter of all drowning fatalities. Drowning ranks as the fourth leading cause of death for children between ages one and four, and the third leading cause for children between ages five and 14.
The school trip was organized by an aviation hospitality academy, though specific details about the institution and the supervision arrangements during the beach visit have not been disclosed by authorities. The beach closure remains in effect as officials continue their investigation into the circumstances that led to this deadly incident.
Photos from the scene showed multiple children being wheeled into ambulances on stretchers by first responders, with emergency personnel carrying specialized equipment as they worked to assist the students. The massive rescue operation involved dozens of emergency workers who responded to reports of people struggling in the water.