Boat carrying 25 tourists capsizes in Oman, killing three

A boat carrying 25 French tourists has capsized off the coast of Oman, killing three, local police have said.

The three tourists drowned when the boat tipped over two-and-a-half nautical miles from Oman's capital city of Muscat.

Royal Oman Police said a tour guide and a boat captain were also on the ship. Two tourists suffered minor injuries.

"Investigations are still ongoing to determine the circumstances of the incident," police said.

In a post on X, formerly Twitter, the upturned hull of a boat could be seen floating in the water.

According to the Oman Daily Observer, the boat was en-route to the Ad Dimaniyat Islands, a popular spot with tourists said to offer some of the best snorkelling in the region, separated from the mainland by roughly 10 miles of ocean.

Citing one of the operators, the paper reported that the incident took place around 9am after conditions upon the water suddenly took a turn for the worse.

Oman's Civil Defence and Ambulance Authority confirmed on X that it was called to the incident, and shared photos from the quayside in the aftermath.

France's ‌foreign ministry ‍did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Oman, on the eastern edge of the Arabian peninsula, attracts tourists with its diving and natural beauty, with some four million visitors every year.

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(c) Sky News 2026: Boat carrying 25 tourists capsizes in Oman, killing three