Salem Express

A 115-meter roll on/roll off ferry that struck Hyndman Reef off Safaga late on December 14, 1991 while carrying Egyptian workers and pilgrims home from Jeddah, and sank in minutes; the official death toll was 470, though the overcrowded vessel may have lost more than 1,600. Launched in France in 1964 as the Fred Scamaroni, she now lies on her starboard side on sand, the hull rising from 30 m to about 12 m. The bow visor doors gape open, both funnels and the large 'S' company logo remain, and lifeboats sit collapsed in their davits. Declared a maritime grave, the wreck may not be penetrated; divers circle the exterior past lionfish, groupers, moray eels and bigeye trevally among the spreading coral.