Survivors of a fatal diving boat that sank in the Red Sea say they were forced to sign official witness statements in Arabic – which they could not understand but were translated from English by an employee of the ship’s company.

They said the man also tried to get them to sign a waiver stating they were not accusing anyone of “criminal misconduct.”

The 11 survivors who spoke to the BBC also accused Egyptian authorities of trying to cover up what happened, saying investigators were determined to blame the huge waves.

In the early morning of November 25 last year, the “Ocean Story” sank with 46 people on board. Four bodies have been recovered so far. Seven people are still missing, including two British divers.

Neither the Egyptian government nor the Hurghada-based vessel operator Dive Pro Liveaboard responded to our questions.

Tuesday, BBC reveals multiple survivors’ allegations of security lapses on board. A prominent oceanographer who analyzed weather data also said it was unlikely that huge waves hit the ship.

Survivors said that within hours of being brought ashore, they were subjected to so-called “interrogations,” some from hospital beds, by what they were told was a judge.

Other survivors, who did not require hospitalization and were interviewed at a nearby resort, reported the same feeling of stress.

“We were told we couldn’t leave the room until they had finished everyone’s statements,” said Sarah Martin, an NHS doctor from Lancashire.

Judges are involved in Egypt’s investigation into the cause of the sinking, but survivors say it is unclear who was behind the incident.

Survivors say an employee of the company that owns the Sea Story translated their initial statements into Arabic, an apparent conflict of interest.

Spanish diver Chisora ​​Gonzalez said the man did not initially introduce himself as an employee. “He just said, ‘You have to tell me what happened, and then you have to sign this piece of paper.'”

According to several people we spoke to, it wasn’t until later that the man told them he worked for Dive Pro Liveaboard.

Survivors said their statements were given to investigators after the man translated them – something that shocked Lisa Wolfe. “An ordinary judge cannot accept the interpretation of someone who was clearly fully involved in the entire process.”

A survivor of a Norwegian police investigation said she had “no idea” what the four pages in Arabic that were handed back to her said. “They could write anything. I didn’t know what I signed,” explains Frøydis Adamson. She wrote under her signature that she could not read the documents.

“We were in shock and just wanted to go home,” Chisora ​​said.

Survivors said representatives of the boat operator, Dive Pro Liveaboard, also repeatedly tried to urge people to sign waivers or else agree to statements like: “I will not accuse anyone of any criminal wrongdoing.”

Justin Hodges, an American diver who was also rescued, told us that when he gave his witness statement, he was handed a “liability release document” written in English.

He said he originally thought the person he was speaking to was “an official” but later learned he worked for the company.

“He joined the authorities,” Justin said. “He was trying to absolve us of responsibility, which to me is crazy.”

At least some of the people we spoke to didn’t sign the document.

Everyone we spoke to said they had not been allowed to keep a copy of the statement, but the BBC was told that some people had managed to translate the documents using their mobile phones. Many of them told us that critical, damning details they conveyed verbally were left out of the paperwork.

“Everything about the condition of the life rafts and safety issues on board was gone,” Lisa said.

Sarah and Shisora ​​also reported the same experience. “They just put whatever they want,” Chisora ​​said.

Survivors also said authorities seemed determined from the beginning to blame the tragedy on the waves.

Although many of the rescuers said the waves were not big enough to prevent them from swimming. A leading oceanographer told the BBC that contemporaneous weather data from recent airports strongly supported survivors’ recollections.

Chisora ​​asked if she would eventually see a copy of investigators’ final report, but said she was told it wouldn’t be necessary. “(It’s like) they already knew the cause was the waves,” she said.

When she asked again, Shisora ​​said she was told “the only person responsible was the sea.” She believed authorities had made their decision before the investigation began.

Sarah shared Shisora’s concerns and said the judges were also “very keen” for the survivors not to blame anyone for the accident.

Multiple survivors said they were told they had to speak out about the individuals and specific crimes they were accused of if they wanted anyone to be held accountable.

“Just because I can’t name the person and the crime, doesn’t mean someone isn’t to blame,” Sarah said.

When a group tried to get to Cairo, Dive Pro liveaboard made a last-ditch attempt to get survivors to sign a waiver, Justin said.

He said they lost their passports at sea and a company representative told the group that the documents they were presented with were customs clearance documents for passing through the checkpoint.

“But then I got to the bottom of it and that last sentence was the same release of liability issue,” he said, saying it was a repeat of the sentence he was asked to sign during a witness statement.

Justin said he went to alert others, and when he returned to the person he believed was trying to mislead him, the documents “magically disappeared” and were replaced by more official-looking documents.

“My blood boiled,” he said.

The BBC has not yet seen the exemption document or a copy.

Family and friends of two missing Britons, Jenny Cauthen and Tariq Sinada, from Devon, say they continue to receive incomplete and inaccurate information from the Egyptian government.

For example, after the disaster, they said they were told the ship had not yet been found – even though they saw on television survivors of the wreck being brought ashore. They called for a public inquiry.

“It appears the Egyptian authorities are doing their best to cover up this incident,” said Andy Williamson, a friend. “They want to protect their tourism industry.”

In March, another Dive Pro liveaboard, Sea Legend, caught fire, killing a German tourist.

Last year, independent consultancy International Maritime Investigations released a report on the safety of diving vessels in the Red Sea. It inspected eight vessels, although not including any operated by Dive Pro Liveaboard, and found that none had a “planned maintenance system, safety management system or stability manual” – key documents to avoid capsizing.

It also found design standards were “poor, with all vessels lacking watertight bulkheads, doors and hatches”.

It concluded that no vessel was safe and that Egypt’s dive boat industry “trades largely unregulated”.