http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/meast...ions/index.html
Friday, July 22, 2005; Posted: 11:31 p.m. EDT (03:31 GMT)
(CNN) -- Three explosions shook the Egyptian city of Sharm el-Sheikh and a nearby resort area, killing at least 30 people and wounding 107 early Saturday, the Egyptian Interior Ministry said.
The blast at the city's Old Market was caused by a car bomb, the ministry said.
The causes of the other two explosions -- in a parking lot and at the Ghazala Hotel, both in Naama Bay -- were not yet known.
Egypt's tourism minister, Ahmed el-Maghrabi, said the facade of the hotel was destroyed, and a taxi driver said the blast severely damaged at least one other hotel, all packed with tourists. Dozens of visitors and other taxi drivers were waiting at a shuttle bus stop when the bomb went off, he said.
Sharm el-Sheikh and Naama Bay are popular destinations on the Sinai Peninsula. Sharm el-Sheikh is also where Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas announced a cease-fire in February. (Full story)
The blasts occurred around 1:15 a.m. (1015 p.m. GMT Friday).
A Ghazala Hotel employee told CNN she felt the whole building tremble after hearing a huge explosion. She said guests were being transferred to other hotels and police have cordoned off the area.
Video from Nile TV showed men at one site carrying body bags to emergency vehicles, and other bodies covered by sheets or blankets amid debris on bloody ground.
"We are trying to comfort those touched by those explosions," el-Maghrabi said. "These groups, those criminal groups, will never be able to steal the right of people to move and travel. This is very unfortunate."
One couple was rudely awakened by the blasts.
"My wife and I were asleep and, basically, I just woke up because our house is made out of glass doors, and simply the glass started shaking really hard," said Ahmed Mansour, who lives in Sharm el-Sheikh, 7 kilometers (4 miles) from Naama Bay.
"I personally just thought it was an earthquake. So then my wife woke up and I just told her, it's probably just an earthquake, so just go back to sleep. Fifteen minutes later, I started to get phone calls from, basically, people asking us if we were alright," Mansour said.
"And then I switched the TV on and basically heard what happened."
Mansour said he and his neighbors were shaken. His neighbors went to his house because they didn't want to be alone.
Mansour's wife works at a dive shop. He said the busiest part of the tourist season is beginning, but "I don't think there's going to be high season here this year."
A physician at the Sharm el-Sheikh hospital, Dr. Adel Taher, told CNN that he has treated at least 50 people injured in the blasts, but said he has not personally seen any fatalities. He said every available doctor in the area has come to the hospital to assist the blast victims.
Lucia Gregoiia said she was at a bar with friends near the Ghazala Hotel when they heard an explosion. They went to the door and were showered with dust and smoke. She ran toward the beach and away from the crowds to seek safety, she said.
In October, the Taba Hilton and nearby camping areas around the Egyptian cities of Ras al Sultan and Tarabeen were attacked, resulting in 34 deaths.
CNN's Alphonso Van Marsh and Arwa Damon contributed to this report.
Friday, July 22, 2005; Posted: 11:31 p.m. EDT (03:31 GMT)
(CNN) -- Three explosions shook the Egyptian city of Sharm el-Sheikh and a nearby resort area, killing at least 30 people and wounding 107 early Saturday, the Egyptian Interior Ministry said.
The blast at the city's Old Market was caused by a car bomb, the ministry said.
The causes of the other two explosions -- in a parking lot and at the Ghazala Hotel, both in Naama Bay -- were not yet known.
Egypt's tourism minister, Ahmed el-Maghrabi, said the facade of the hotel was destroyed, and a taxi driver said the blast severely damaged at least one other hotel, all packed with tourists. Dozens of visitors and other taxi drivers were waiting at a shuttle bus stop when the bomb went off, he said.
Sharm el-Sheikh and Naama Bay are popular destinations on the Sinai Peninsula. Sharm el-Sheikh is also where Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas announced a cease-fire in February. (Full story)
The blasts occurred around 1:15 a.m. (1015 p.m. GMT Friday).
A Ghazala Hotel employee told CNN she felt the whole building tremble after hearing a huge explosion. She said guests were being transferred to other hotels and police have cordoned off the area.
Video from Nile TV showed men at one site carrying body bags to emergency vehicles, and other bodies covered by sheets or blankets amid debris on bloody ground.
"We are trying to comfort those touched by those explosions," el-Maghrabi said. "These groups, those criminal groups, will never be able to steal the right of people to move and travel. This is very unfortunate."
One couple was rudely awakened by the blasts.
"My wife and I were asleep and, basically, I just woke up because our house is made out of glass doors, and simply the glass started shaking really hard," said Ahmed Mansour, who lives in Sharm el-Sheikh, 7 kilometers (4 miles) from Naama Bay.
"I personally just thought it was an earthquake. So then my wife woke up and I just told her, it's probably just an earthquake, so just go back to sleep. Fifteen minutes later, I started to get phone calls from, basically, people asking us if we were alright," Mansour said.
"And then I switched the TV on and basically heard what happened."
Mansour said he and his neighbors were shaken. His neighbors went to his house because they didn't want to be alone.
Mansour's wife works at a dive shop. He said the busiest part of the tourist season is beginning, but "I don't think there's going to be high season here this year."
A physician at the Sharm el-Sheikh hospital, Dr. Adel Taher, told CNN that he has treated at least 50 people injured in the blasts, but said he has not personally seen any fatalities. He said every available doctor in the area has come to the hospital to assist the blast victims.
Lucia Gregoiia said she was at a bar with friends near the Ghazala Hotel when they heard an explosion. They went to the door and were showered with dust and smoke. She ran toward the beach and away from the crowds to seek safety, she said.
In October, the Taba Hilton and nearby camping areas around the Egyptian cities of Ras al Sultan and Tarabeen were attacked, resulting in 34 deaths.
CNN's Alphonso Van Marsh and Arwa Damon contributed to this report.
