Seven South Africans wounded in explosion in Egypt
Security and medical sources say seventeen people were injured following the explosion.
A camel walks past the pyramid of Khafre (also known as Chephren) at the Giza pyramids necropolis on the southwestern outskirts of the Egyptian capital Cairo . AFP/File/Mohamed el-Shahed
Seven South Africans and Egyptians were among those injured when an explosive device went off and struck a tourist bus on Sunday near Egypt’s famed pyramids.
Seventeen people, including foreigners, were injured, security and medical sources said.
South Africans and Egyptians were among those injured when an explosive device went off, hitting the bus, according to the sources.
The Grand Egyptian Museum is popular with tour buses and tourists, but the numbers of tourists visiting the North African country have dropped due to security forces there fighting an insurgency which has targeted military and civilian targets, both in the restive Sinai Peninsula and on the mainland.
This is a developing story.
Sunday’s incident comes after three Vietnamese holidaymakers and their Egyptian guide were killed when a roadside bomb hit their bus as it travelled near the pyramids outside Cairo in December.
Egypt’s tourism sector has suffered for years due to a series of deadly attacks targeting holidaymakers following the turmoil of the 2011 uprising that toppled longtime ruler Hosni Mubarak.
Authorities have gone to great lengths to lure tourists back, touting a series of archaeological finds and a new museum next to the pyramids, as well as enhanced security at airports and around ancient sites.
The industry has slowly picked up, with tourist arrivals reaching 8.3 million in 2017, compared with 5.3 million the previous year, official statistics showed.
But that figure was still far short of the record influx of 2010 when more than 14 million visitors flocked to see the country’s sites.
For more news your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.
