Britons among casualties in Egypt bus crash
The crash occurred in the Sinai peninsula
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Thursday, 01, May 2008 07:54
Four Britons have been injured in a bus crash in Egypt, the Foreign Office has confirmed.
A spokesperson said the Egyptian ministry of tourism told the UK government the four Britons had suffered their injuries in an incident in the Sinai peninsula.
"We are still trying to find out just how many Britons were involved and how many, if any, were injured," a spokesman said.
"Our consul in Sharm el-Sheikh is currently visiting hospitals in the area."
According to media reports nine people have been killed in the accident, which is believed to have occurred when a bus overturned while travelling round a tight corner.
The BBC reports that a further 28 people were injured after the bus crashed while travelling between Sharm el-Sheikh and Cairo.
It caught fire after the crash and many passengers, who reports claim are Russians, Romanians, Canadians, Italians, Egyptians and Ukrainians, were severely burned as a result.
Fears are growing for the safety of British tourists on board the crash as the fatalities have not yet been identified.
The Reuters news agency quoted police sources saying the bodies were too badly burned for their identities to be immediately confirmed.
Egyptian roads are renowned for their poor conditions and a combination of speeding and careless driving led to at least 8,000 people being killed in accidents in 2006.
In the same year, a record 657,000 Britons visited Egypt.