May 02, 2008	Friday	Rabi-us-Sani 25, 1429

CAIRO, May 1: Nine people were killed and at least 29 injured when a coach bearing European and North American tourists 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 a tyre burst in the Wadi Ghandal area north of Sharm. The driver lost control and it flipped over and burst into flames.

Eight people were burnt to death, while the injured — including Canadians, Italians, Russians and Ukrainians — were taken to three nearby hospitals, the official said, adding that a Canadian woman had to have her leg amputated.

Each year about 6,000 people die and 30,000 are injured 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 that was 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. —AFP