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Sinai bus crash toll
A passenger bus overturned on the Dahab-Nuweiba road in Egypt’s South Sinai governorate on Wednesday morning, killing at least 16 people and injuring 28 others, according to the Ministry of Health and Population.
“has killed 16 people and injured 28 others”
The crash happened before the Al-Saada area on the route from Dahab to Nuweiba, an area with resorts along the Red Sea popular with tourists.
Health Ministry spokesman Hossam Abdel Ghaffar said 20 ambulances were dispatched to the scene to evacuate and treat the wounded.
BBC reported the death toll rose to at least 17 on Wednesday morning, including 10 Jordanians and a child, while 28 others were injured, citing local sources and Jordanian media.
Ambulances and hospital response
Al Jazeera said Health Minister Khaled Abdel Ghaffar ordered medical facilities to raise their level of preparedness and provide the injured with necessary medical care, medicines and supplies.
Anadolu Ajansı reported that after authorities received a report of the accident, the ministry statement said 20 ambulances were dispatched to the Dahab-Nuweiba road before the Al-Saada area, in the direction of Nuweiba.
BBC said authorities dispatched 25 ambulances to the scene and transported the injured to Nuwaiba Central Hospital, the Urban Center in Nuwaiba, and Sharm El-Sheikh International Hospital.
EFE said the bus carried 43 passengers, 22 of whom were Jordanian citizens, and that ten of the fatalities were Jordanian nationals, according to Jordan’s state broadcaster Al Mamlaka.
Foreign affairs and next steps
BBC reported that the Jordanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs noted it was following the crash in Nuwaiba and said a team from the Jordanian embassy in Cairo was on its way to follow up on the injured and secure the transfer of the bodies to the Kingdom.
“a team from the Jordanian embassy in Cairo is on its way”
The BBC account also said the bus was traveling from Cairo to the Nuwaiba port on the Red Sea, in preparation for passengers to travel to Jordan by sea, and that it carried Egyptians and Jordanians before it overturned in the area of Al-Saadiya.
Al Arabiya English said initial information indicated some Jordanians were killed and injured, and that the area along the Red Sea coast is popular with tourists.
Al Jazeera added that deadliest road accidents are common in Egypt, noting that last year nearly 6,000 people died in road accidents across the country, according to Egypt’s state statistics agency.