Translated material
Death Bus
Russian tourists continue to die in the Middle East
Another car accident that occurred on Monday evening in the Sinai Peninsula, nine days after the tragedy in Israel, when 24 Russian tourists were killed, claimed the lives of seven more Russians. 17 Russian citizens were injured. After the second tragedy with Russian tourists since the beginning of December, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev ordered to strengthen the responsibility of domestic tour operators for the safety of tourists traveling outside the country.22 tourists from Russia and four from Latvia were returning to their hotels in Sharm el-Sheikh after an excursion to Jerusalem. As you know, in November of this year the long-awaited agreement on a visa-free regime between Russia and Israel came into force. Now tens of thousands of Russians vacationing in the Egyptian resorts of the Red Sea take the opportunity to visit Israel at the same time and, of course, first of all, see the holy city with their own eyes.
The ill-fated journey sadly ended 10 km from the “Mecca of surfers” - Dahab, on the highway connecting this city with Sharm el-Sheikh. According to preliminary data, the cause of the accident was speeding by the driver of a tourist bus on a dangerous section of the highway. On a winding road, a minibus carrying tourists crashed into a taxi. As a result, the bus went off the highway and overturned.
However, some sources of information refer to the sudden sandstorm "Khamsin". At the same time, a Russian woman, who was in the crashed bus with her husband, told ITAR-TASS that “he (the driver - Ed. ) was repeatedly asked to reduce the speed, but he ignored all the requests.”
Police and 14 ambulances immediately arrived at the scene, but seven could not be saved. The bodies of the dead tourists were taken to the Dahab hospital, and all the victims were received by the Sharm el-Sheikh International Hospital, where they received medical care.
Three wounded, one of them a Russian, were immediately taken to intensive care. The youngest of the wounded is a 13-year-old boy, the oldest is a 62-year-old Russian woman. Most of the victims suffered internal hemorrhages, bruises, abrasions, fractures and glass cuts.
It is common knowledge that Egypt is an extremely problematic country in terms of road safety. In 2008, this country ranked first in the total number of tourists killed in road accidents from all countries of the world. Almost every week, news agencies report on major road accidents in Egypt, and the Hurghada-Cairo highway, where many tourists traveled from the Red Sea coast, became especially notorious. Now many of them, especially the Russians, have reoriented themselves towards Israel.
The quality of Egyptian roads does not cause any particular complaints, but the frivolity of Egyptian drivers amazes foreigners. Cars and minibuses move to deafening music, drivers gesticulate and dance behind the wheel, and the highest chic among them is considered to be lighting a cigarette from a neighboring car while driving. But the most dangerous thing is the constant races that ardent Egyptians organize among themselves, regardless of the police. Moreover, this can happen both on intercity highways and on narrow intra-resort roads.
...To evacuate the injured Russians, the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations is sending an Il-76 plane to Egypt with doctors and psychologists, as well as all the equipment necessary for transporting the wounded.
In connection with the tragedies in the Middle East, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev expressed condolences to the relatives of the victims and instructed the Ministry of Emergency Situations and the Russian Embassy in Egypt to provide all necessary assistance to Russians injured in a bus accident in Egypt, said the head of state’s press secretary Natalya Timakova. In addition, the President instructed the Minister of Sports, Tourism and Youth Policy of the Russian Federation, Vitaly Mutko, to work on measures to strengthen the responsibility of tour operators to ensure the safety of Russian citizens traveling as part of tourist groups outside the Russian Federation. The Minister was instructed to review the agreements governing relations with partner countries regarding the responsibility of the host country for ensuring the safety of foreign tourists.
The largest car accidents involving Russian tourists
2008
On January 2, in the popular Turkish resort of Kemer, a bus carrying Russian tourists left the road and overturned. Seven Russian citizens were injured - residents of Moscow and Ivanovo.
On January 3, a regular bus and a bus carrying Russian tourists collided in northern Sweden. Five Russians were seriously injured; a total of 18 people were injured in the car accident.
On February 27 , a bus carrying Russian tourists from Pattaya to Bangkok had an accident. As a result of the incident, two Russian citizens died, another Russian citizen was taken to the hospital in serious condition. Of the 40 passengers on the bus, only nine were not injured.
On May 1, nine people were killed and 30 more were injured in a tour bus accident in Egypt. Of the dead, six people were Russian citizens, and 24 of those injured.
On July 2, a bus carrying Russian tourists was involved in an accident in Antalya. The guide-translator, a citizen of Kyrgyzstan, was killed, and 18 Russian citizens were injured.
On August 22, a bus carrying 22 Russian tourists overturned on a highway near the city of Mudanjiang in Heilongjiang Province (China). The bus was heading to the city of Suifenhe. Two Russians died on the spot. According to eyewitnesses, the driver fell asleep, after which the bus overturned and fell into a ditch.
On September 13, near the village of Korkuteli, 60 km from Antalya (Turkey), a bus carrying 36 Russian tourists overturned. The tourists were returning from a trip to the city of Pamukkale. 32 people were injured.
On September 15, an accident occurred in the Ras Sudr area on the Red Sea coast (Egypt). A tourist bus carrying 42 people collided with a truck that had driven into the oncoming lane. As a result of the accident, 37 people were injured, including nine Russians, and four Russians died.
On October 12, a bus carrying Russian tourists overturned 120 km from Ulaanbaatar (Mongolia). As a result of the accident, 20 people were injured, five of them were seriously injured.
On December 16 , a bus carrying a tourist group plunged into an abyss near the resort town of Eilat in southern Israel. The number of deaths as a result of the accident reached 24 people. All passengers on the bus are tourists from St. Petersburg.
2007
On January 4, a passenger bus carrying tourists fell off a cliff near Raigoda (India). One Russian citizen was killed and 15 more were injured.
On April 16, an accident occurred in Hurghada (Egypt), which resulted in a severe traumatic brain injury in a four-year-old child who arrived with his parents from Irkutsk.
On July 22, a car accident occurred in Poland. A bus on a straight section of the motorway crashed through a guardrail and overturned on its side. As a result of the accident, 23 Russian tourists were injured.
On July 24, a minibus carrying Russian tourists from Kazan overturned in the Turkish resort province of Antalya. 18 people were injured, two women required surgical treatment.
On September 7, two accidents involving Russian tourists occurred in the Turkish resort province of Antalya. In the first accident, 11 people were injured, and a guide from Ukraine died. Five people were injured in the second accident.
The third accident this day occurred in the neighboring province of Denizli. There, a tour company bus crashed into another bus standing on the side of the road. Of the 40 people, seven were injured.
On October 5, an accident occurred in a tunnel under the Suez Canal, 150 km from Cairo, involving a bus carrying Russian tourists. The bus crashed into a truck transporting cement. As a result of the collision, two Egyptians were killed - the bus driver and a security officer. Eight Russians were injured, two of whom were seriously injured.
On the night of November 26, 16 tourists from Russia and Ukraine were injured as a result of an accident in Egypt on the Nuweiba-Taba international highway on the Sinai Peninsula. The accident occurred because the bus driver lost control.
2006
In January, a passenger minibus carrying seven Russian citizens was involved in an accident near Bangkok (Thailand). Two were killed, five were injured.
On March 5, a collision between a passenger minibus and a truck occurred in Hurghada. One person died (Russian citizen Maria Matveychuk, born in 1986), and one person (Matveychuk’s mother) was also injured.
On March 13, a minibus carrying six Russian citizens was involved in an accident near Karlovy Vary (Czech Republic). Three Russians received severe injuries and were hospitalized, and another was treated on the spot.
On June 12, a bus carrying citizens of Russia and Ukraine overturned near Abu Rudeis (Egypt). 20 people were injured (including 12 Russians).
On August 12, a passenger bus was involved in an accident in Belek (Turkey). Russian citizen Larisa Ganeva died.
On September 5, a passenger bus was involved in an accident in France. A Russian citizen who accompanied the tourist group as a guide died.
On December 15, a bus carrying tourists overturned 15 km from Abu Zenim (Egypt). Eight Russian citizens were injured.
2005
On April 27, 95 km north of Hurghada (Egypt), a bus carrying tourists on the Hurghada-Cairo route overturned. Two people were killed (including a Russian citizen), 19 people were injured (including 17 Russian citizens).
On May 27 , a bus en route to Kemer and carrying Russian citizens overturned in Turkey. One Russian was killed and 38 others were injured.
On July 10, a collision between a passenger minibus and a car occurred on the Alanya-Managwat highway in Turkey. Two people died (including a Russian citizen).
On August 5, a passenger bus overturned on the Haibing-Heihe highway in China. Nine people were killed (including four Russians), four people (also Russians) were injured.
Materials used from RIA Novosti.