Related News
US tourists killed in bus crash
Source: Agencies |
December 27, 2010, Monday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
A TOUR bus collided with a truck in southern Egypt yesterday, killing eight American tourists and injuring 21 others in the latest fatal crash involving tourists, the state news agency said.
The bus was taking a tour group on the 185 kilometer journey from Aswan to the ancient temples of Abu Simbel, when it ran into the truck parked on the side of a single lane desert road, killing six women and two men.
The Egyptian driver and a guide were also injured in the accident.
Egyptian officials said the injured Americans were first transferred to a military hospital for treatment and then 10 of the injured, including two Egyptians, were airlifted to a hospital in Cairo.
An official of Misr Tours, which was running the bus service, said the accident occurred around dawn while it was still dark shortly after the bus left Aswan.
The official said the group was part of a larger tour of 116 American tourists who were traveling in three buses.
The other buses did not continue to Abu Simbel, and instead returned to Aswan, he said.
The United States embassy in Cairo confirmed that the injured are being moved by military transport to Cairo, but said in a statement that it didn't have any further information on the accident.
Road accidents are common in Egypt because of bad roads and poor enforcement of traffic rules, and crashes involving tour groups are not uncommon.
Last month, eight foreign tourists were killed when their tour bus lost control and flipped over several times on a winding mountain road near a resort on Egypt's Red Sea coast, while in October six Belgian tourists were killed in a crash in the south.
Following last month's accident, authorities closed several travel operators after complaints of poor safety measures and driving.
Misr Tours is a joint stock investment company and one of Egypt's leading full-service ground operators.
An estimated 8,000 people die in car accidents annually in Egypt.
The bus was taking a tour group on the 185 kilometer journey from Aswan to the ancient temples of Abu Simbel, when it ran into the truck parked on the side of a single lane desert road, killing six women and two men.
The Egyptian driver and a guide were also injured in the accident.
Egyptian officials said the injured Americans were first transferred to a military hospital for treatment and then 10 of the injured, including two Egyptians, were airlifted to a hospital in Cairo.
An official of Misr Tours, which was running the bus service, said the accident occurred around dawn while it was still dark shortly after the bus left Aswan.
The official said the group was part of a larger tour of 116 American tourists who were traveling in three buses.
The other buses did not continue to Abu Simbel, and instead returned to Aswan, he said.
The United States embassy in Cairo confirmed that the injured are being moved by military transport to Cairo, but said in a statement that it didn't have any further information on the accident.
Road accidents are common in Egypt because of bad roads and poor enforcement of traffic rules, and crashes involving tour groups are not uncommon.
Last month, eight foreign tourists were killed when their tour bus lost control and flipped over several times on a winding mountain road near a resort on Egypt's Red Sea coast, while in October six Belgian tourists were killed in a crash in the south.
Following last month's accident, authorities closed several travel operators after complaints of poor safety measures and driving.
Misr Tours is a joint stock investment company and one of Egypt's leading full-service ground operators.
An estimated 8,000 people die in car accidents annually in Egypt.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
