Tourist bus crashes in Egypt, killing 12

Collision with speeding truck occurred in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula

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updated 1:20 p.m. ET Sept. 15, 2008

CAIRO, Egypt - A collision between a tourist bus and a speeding truck in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula killed 12 people and wounded 33 early Monday, according to officials.

The head of the Suez region's tourist services, Farouk Huzayem, said those killed were five foreigners and seven Egyptians. The bodies of two Ukrainians have been identified, he added.

Huzayem said the accident took place six miles (10 kilometers) from the Red Sea resort town of Ras Sidr when the speeding truck burst a tire and its driver lost control and crashed into the bus.

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The head of emergency services for Southern Sinai, Ibrahim Hassan, had earlier said the dead included seven tourists from the Netherlands, Russia and Ukraine, and five Egyptians. There was no immediate explanation available for the discrepancy.

Egypt has a history of serious bus and car crashes because of speeding, careless driving and poor road conditions. At least 8,000 people were killed in accidents in 2006, the most recent statistics available.

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