Explosion hits tourist bus in Egypt
Written by Millennium on May 19, 2019
Explosion hits tourist bus near Grand Egyptian Museum at pyramids, media reports say
An explosion targeting a tourist bus has injured at least 16 people near the Grand Egyptian Museum, next to the pyramids in Giza, security sources say.
Most of those hurt are foreign tourists, Reuters news agency reports. A device went off close to the museum fence as the bus was passing.
It is the second incident affecting tourists in Egypt in six months.
In December, three Vietnamese tourists and a local tour guide were killed after a roadside bomb hit their bus.
Those hurt on Sunday suffered injuries of medium to minor gravity, a local security source told BBC News.
Tourism is a mainstay of Egypt’s economy with hotel workers, tourist guides, taxi drivers and stallholders in the souks and bazaars depending on it for their living.
The industry has been recovering since a sharp drop in visitor numbers after the turmoil of the Arab Spring in 2011 and the bombing of a Russian passenger jet in 2015, when 224 people were killed.
The Grand Egyptian Museum is still under construction and is expected to open fully to the public in 2020.
