SUEZ, Egypt (AFP) — At least nine people were killed and 28 injured when a coach carrying European and North Americans overturned and caught fire in Egypt's Sinai peninsula on Thursday, a security official said.
The coach, with 40 people on board, was travelling from the Sinai resort of Sharm el-Sheikh to Cairo when it left the road, hit a concrete barrier, rolled over and burst into flames about 70 kilometres (45 miles) south of Suez.
Three of the dead were burnt beyond recognition.
Russia's state news agency RIA Novosti quoted a Rosno insurance company representative as telling Business FM radio that two Russians were among the dead.
The British foreign office said Britons were involved but none was killed. The Canadian embassy in Cairo said it knew of two injured Canadians.
The injured include 13 Russians, four British, two Romanians, two Canadians, two Italians, a Ukrainian and two Egyptian police as well as the Egyptian driver and guide.
All tour buses in Egypt have at least one armed policeman on board.
The coach was owned by Azure Travel, Egypt's official MENA news agency said, adding that the accident occurred at about 6:00 am (0300 GMT) while the vehicle was negotiating a sharp bend.
Security and traffic officials, civil defence troops and ambulances were all rushed to the scene, it added.
The injured were taken to hospitals near Sharm. Three were in a serious condition and one later died in the hospital, the official said, adding that a Canadian woman also had to have a hand amputated.
In London the foreign office confirmed that Britons were involved in the accident but that none had been killed.
"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."
Each year about 6,000 people die and 30,000 are hurt in road accidents in Egypt. In March, 23 people were killed when two trucks collided head on.
In February, 29 people were killed in a pile-up on a road south of Cairo in an accident blamed on fog.
Traffic regulations are often badly enforced and vehicles poorly maintained. Many coastal and desert roads allow for high speeds, and accidents caused by reckless overtaking are frequent.
Millions of tourists visit Egypt every year, with tourism accounting for almost 20 percent of the country's foreign currency revenue.
Egypt last month launched a plan aimed at welcoming 14 million tourists by 2011, compared with 11 million in 2007.
The tourism industry has recovered well after being hit hard by Islamic militant attacks during the 1990s. However bomb attacks on Sinai resorts, including Sharm, between 2004 and 2006 left dozens dead and many more wounded.
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