A Doctor’s Final Words to His Father Before a Tragic Submarine Incident
Doctor’s Last Conversation With His Father Revealed Before He Died at 40 in Red Sea Submarine Tragedy
A Russian doctor had one last talk with his father before the Red Sea catastrophe happened; it would soon be a heartbreaking discussion.
For Urussu, Tatarstan, doctors Kristina and Ravil Valiullin, a family trip turned sad. They took their long-awaited vacation to Egypt on March 21 with their kids, who are ten and fifteen years old. According to the Russian journal Woman, tragedy occurred during a bathyscaphe excursion that allowed them to explore the underwater environment.
According to early reports from the Russian outlet, Ravil and Kristina were initially thought to be among the dead. Kristina’s mother stayed behind to take care of their house while the family was away, as they were scheduled to return to Russia on April 1.
Their hometown of Urussu was immediately troubled and saddened by the news of their alleged deaths.
Liliya Galimova, the head of the RT Raisa’s press office, stated, “I can neither confirm nor deny,” as uncertainty surrounded the victims’ identities.
because the information we use is straight from Egypt, the scene. The information there is always changing, as we can see. It seems that time is required. We’ll wait for more information.
Hours later, things changed drastically. Kristina and her two girls survived the tragedy, according to a March 27 Telegram report from the Russian media source SHOT. Kristina was wrongly recorded as one among the dead by Egyptian authorities, but they eventually fixed the mistake.
It was established that one of the six Russian citizens killed in the tragedy was her husband, Ravil, a 40-year-old anesthesiologist and resuscitator.
Fifty individuals from Russia, India, Norway, and Sweden were on board the submersible, according to local officials. Seven Russian nationals are still being closely monitored by medical professionals.
The event has left a lasting impression on Urussu. The neighborhood knew Kristina, a 38-year-old pediatrician, and her late husband for their commitment and kindness.
Their coworkers, fighting back tears, recalled how Kristina and Ravil had been coworkers at the local hospital for six years and had been together since medical school. “They weren’t people; they were gold! They declared their deep love for one another.
Additionally, Ravil’s father recalled a last chat he had with his son prior to the trip. “They announced that the entire family would be joining them for an underwater adventure. He stated, “They wanted to show the kids the fish.”
The Republic of Tatarstan’s Minister of Health, Marcel Minnullin, described Kristina and Ravil as “highly qualified specialists” who worked with professionalism and respect. He also added that their loss was significant for the local community and the healthcare system in the area.
The tragedy that befell the Valiullin family was a part of a broader occurrence that was previously reported by the BBC and caught the interest of local authorities.
A tourist submarine carrying about 40 people apparently sank off the coast of Hurghada, a well-known vacation city in Egypt along the Red Sea, early on Thursday, March 27, 2025, in a tragic maritime accident.
At least six persons are believed dead, the outlet stated in a story published at 12:28 p.m. local time.
Four people were listed in critical condition and taken to local medical institutions, while nine other people were reported hurt. 29 of the 40 tourists who were reportedly on board were successfully rescued.
The BBC’s Cairo-based team recognized the ship as Sindbad, a long-running tour submarine renowned for its underwater expeditions, just two minutes later (at 12:30 p.m.).
Additionally, the publication promised readers that there would be more updates in the future.
The website of the submarine company states that Sindbad Submarines is committed to using immersive aquatic activities to make lifelong memories.
By mid-afternoon, additional BBC reports provided a more comprehensive view of the situation in Hurghada. New photos taken at 3:11 p.m. revealed police outside the Egyptian Hospital, where the sinking victims had been transported.
The grim images of the police officers positioned at the facility highlighted the gravity of the situation and the urgency that still permeates the area, even if previous reports revealed nine injuries, four of which were critical.
The BBC addressed the rumors that the weather was a factor in the catastrophe shortly after, at 3:31 p.m. According to meteorological data from a neighboring location in Hurghada, there were no indications of low cloud cover or turbulent conditions, and wind speeds were mild, measuring only 5 mph.
The sea was allegedly calm at the time of the occurrence, with wave heights estimated to be only 0.2 meters, which raises more questions about what would have led the submarine to abruptly submerge.
A fleet of ambulances stationed at the harbor was seen in other photos provided around 3:50 p.m., providing a visual representation of the prompt and extensive emergency response.
A second Sindbad submarine was spotted docked close by in one of the photos, however it was later determined that this particular vessel was not involved in the tragedy that occurred that morning.
An eyewitness told the BBC, “We heard the ambulance sirens which lasted a long time and there are still at least three ambulances at the harbour [sic].” The visitor was staying at the neighboring Sindbad Club.
Local media also started to comment in the hours after the occurrence. Since the catastrophe, all pertinent agencies have been closely monitoring the situation, according to the Egyptian news outlet Al-Masry Al-Youm.
Several ambulances were sent to the scene right away, highlighting the scope of the emergency response, according to the report, which was initially written in Arabic and only partially translated into English.
The outlet did, however, stress that the accident’s conditions and reasons are still unknown, which increases the mystery around what caused the tourist submarine to abruptly sink.
Al-Masry Al-Youm’s Instagram visual documentation of the sinking’s aftermath has provided more information. A brief video footage of the serene yet eerie waters off Hurghada, where other vessels could be seen stationed nearby the incident, was posted by the Egyptian news site.
The video shows a number of boats parked close to the coast, most likely connected to the Sindbad submarine tour or as part of the continuing emergency response.
Conflicting reports about the number of casualties and their nationalities started to surface by late afternoon. Viktor Voropaev, Russia’s consul general in Hurghada, reported to state-run news agency Tass at 4:10 p.m. that at least five Russians, including two children, had perished in the submarine disaster. The BBC carried this assertion.
All of the passengers on board the ship were Russian nationals, according to the Russian Embassy in Cairo, which first reported four fatalities. This update slightly deviated from those estimates.
The Russian Embassy in Cairo responded to the developing issue in an official statement, restating the incident’s terrible occurrence and offering more details about the casualties and the ongoing response.
The embassy authorities verified in their Russian-language statement that several of the Russians aboard the submarine were customers of the travel agency Biblio Globus.
They pointed out that representatives of the Russian Consulate General had been to the hotel pier in Sindbad to offer immediate assistance.
The embassy admitted that the status of a number of people was still being confirmed, but assured that the majority of those rescued were stable and receiving the proper care.
Furthermore, they said that there were 45 tourists in all, which is in contrast to a prior report that stated there were 40.
According to the most recent information, 39 passengers were safely evacuated from the event, but six tourists perished, according to Red Sea Governor Amr Hanafy.
In an announcement posted on Facebook, Hanafy reassured the public that no one is still missing, which provides some closure to an uneasy day. In order to ascertain the precise reason of the tragedy, he noted, an official inquiry is currently in progress.
