afrol News, 15 September - Twelve people including six tourists were killed when a coach hit a delivery truck head on along west coast of Egypt's Sinai peninsula and Monday, said a security official.

Six tourists, including a Russian woman, coach driver and a policeman who accompanied tourist coach were killed, said officials along with four Egyptians traveling in the truck.

Two of the dead tourists were also believed to be coming from Netherlands and Ukraine, Egypt's official reported, adding that some of bodies had been torn apart by force of crash.

37 people were injured in the accident that happened 17 kilometres north of town of Ras Sidr during a day trip from popular south Sinai resort of Sharm el-Sheikh to Egyptian Museum in Cairo.

Officials further said most of injured people were taken to hospitals in Sharm while six of most serious cases were taken to Suez to the north.

Netherlands, Russia and Ukraine embassies were not immediately able to confirm involvement of their citizens.

The area where the crash happened is mostly desert and popular with kite and windsurfers who stay at a string of resorts along the coast.

Reports from local media show that about 6,000 people die and 30,000 are hurt in road accidents in Egypt each year, adding that Egypt has a history of serious crashes because of speeding and poor road conditions.

In May a coach crash killed eight foreign tourists and an Egyptian driver in same region. Three tourist firms were suspended following that crash.

Three Italian tourists were also killed when a minibus they were traveling in overturned on Sinai's eastern coast, near resort of Dahab on Saturday.

In March 23 people were killed when two trucks collided head, while on previous month 29 people were killed in a pile-up on a road south of Cairo in an accident blamed on fog.

Meanwhile traffic regulations in Egypt are often badly enforced and vehicles are poorly maintained.

Many coastal and desert roads allow for high speeds, and accidents are caused by irresponsible overtaking are frequent.

According to reports, as a response to increasing safety on Egypt's roads, a new traffic law was introduced in August, in a bid to improve road safety and ease the country's chronic road congestion.

Not wearing a seatbelt or using on a mobile phone now means a fine of 300 Egyptian pounds (56 dollars, 38 euros), while driving in wrong direction on a one-way street could cost 3,000 pounds (560 dollars).

With some accidents caused by badly maintained and old cars, drivers of vehicles more than 20 years old now have three years to get them off the road and replace them with new ones.

Millions of tourists visit the country every year, with their spending accounting for almost 20 percent of foreign currency receipts.

By staff writer

© afrol News

Related pages and feature

Current afrol News Top Stories