Flood in Egypt!
Hundreds of Russians and other tourists cut off from peace in Egypt due to flooding
Jungle / 19.01. 201.06:45
In Egypt, about three hundred Russians found themselves in a difficult situation. According to ITAR-TASS, as a result of heavy downpours that fell the day before, mudflows and flood waters that came down from the mountains cut off the highway connecting the resorts of the Sinai Peninsula with the capital.
About 10 buses with 300 Russians were blocked on the road. Tourists were returning on Sunday evening to Sharm el-Sheikh from an excursion to Cairo and got stuck 105 km from the Suez Canal, where by that time a large number of cars had already accumulated on a damaged section of the road. According to the tourists themselves, they spent the whole night on the road, and settled them far from immediately. According to available information, all Russians are alive and well, none of them were injured.
- Rampant elements in Egypt. There are dead, wounded and missing
On Monday evening, Interfax reported that some of the Russian tourists who had suffered from the current situation had been accommodated in hotels. Tour operators organized two meals a day for them.
About six buses with tourists were sent to the Albatros Hotel. Tourists were accommodated in rooms. The road to the nearest town is still open, and local residents, organized by guides, went to buy food.
In addition, Russian tourists are also accommodated in a hotel located in the neighboring town. Representatives of the Egyptian police, working at the scene, refuse to give both tour operators and tourists any information about where exactly they are.
Also, according to the correspondent of the agency, on the highway where buses with tourists got stuck, cell towers were destroyed, the hotel staff uses military communications.
"The military say that the road is covered with mudflows.
They promise that the weather will be the same for another 2-3 days, so the road is not cleaned. The police won't let tourists in. There is no connection with Sharm el-Sheikh, " the correspondent said. According to him, in addition to Russian tourists, there are citizens of the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and some other states on buses and in hotels.
Employees of the Russian diplomatic mission in Egypt, together with the authorities of that country, are taking all measures to provide the necessary assistance. According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, most of the Russians are staying at the Marina Sudr Hotel (the village of Ras Sudr), 250 km from Cairo.
The Association of Tour Operators of Russia (ATOR) told Interfax that "the day before, due to sudden bad weather, the Sharm el-Sheikh airport was temporarily closed, four flights from Moscow were delayed or canceled. "
Rampant elements in Egypt. There are dead, wounded and missing
Torrential rains, which caused the worst mudslides and floods in the last 16 years, have already led to serious consequences. Relay towers of mobile communication and power transmission lines were damaged in Sinai, in a number of districts of Taba, Nuweiba and Sharm el-Sheikh there is no electricity, telephone communication does not work. The storm has led to numerous accidents. The accident involved a police car escorting foreign tourists.
At the airport of Sharm el-Sheikh, under the pressure of water, the ceilings of one of the halls of the airport collapsed. The runways were flooded. In the Ras Sudra area, flood waters flooded residential buildings. Mudflow washed away an Israeli patrol car south of Rafah.
Two people became victims of floods on the peninsula. A British tourist and an Egyptian guide died in Aswan, south of Cairo, also abandoned in the disaster area.
Hurghada also suffered, where many residential buildings were flooded. To date, road communication with Hurghada has already been restored.
According to the Egyptian emergency and civil defense services, a total of four people are currently considered dead, 12 were injured, and 13 are missing. About 45 residential buildings were destroyed by flood waters.