A MINIBUS carrying thirteen Cypriot holidaymakers in the Egyptian holiday resort of Sharm El-Sheikh crashed yesterday evening on its way back from the Monastery of St. Catherine, killing seven passengers as well as the Egyptian driver and injuring another three.
Four of the dead were from the same family.
Initial reports from survivors said the driver was travelling at 150km an hour, despite repeated requests from passengers for him to slow down. The tyre of the minibus blew out and the bus overturned five times before coming to a halt on the side of the road, where it lay unseen for around 20 minutes until another vehicle passed.
Survivors were taken to a military hospital in Sharm El-Sheikh and later transferred to a civilian hospital in the holiday resort.
The Foreign Ministry, already reeling from Sunday’s plane crash, scrambled their services once more after being alerted by the Egyptian authorities about the crash which occurred just ten kilometres from the monastery at around 6pm.
Situated at the foot of Mount Sinai and 275kms out of Sharm El-Sheikh, the isolated he Orthodox monastery is a popular attraction for many visitors to the area. The poorly maintained highway is the only road to the site.
Justice Minister Doros Theodorou yesterday told reporters that four out of the seven passengers killed in the crash were from one family. Also killed was a couple and another female passenger.
Theodorou added that the four family members killed were the parents and the two children. Three children from the same family were only slightly injured.
The family killed was announced as being 35-year-old Demos and 28-year-old Eliada Paisiou and their two children Marios, 2, and Stella, 8. The surviving three children of the same family were announced as being Christos, Giorgos and Chrystalla.
Also killed were Andreas and Androulla Miltiadous, aged 48 and 44 respectively and 43-year-old Maria Demetriou. The three other passengers of the minibus who escaped unharmed were couple Nicos and Evanthia Polycarpou and Andros Demetriou.
The Cyprus Ambassador to Egypt, Fedonas Anastasiou, was immediately alerted about the accident and last night set off for the six-hour drive to Sharm El-Sheikh by car from Cairo.
Speaking to a local television station, Anastasiou said that relatives travelling from Cyprus to Egypt would be aided by Embassy officials once they landed.
One emotional relative went live on Sigma news and told them that he had been told by his two young grandchildren that their parents and siblings had been injured in the crash.
“I am bracing myself for the worst. Right now, I just want to fly out and be with my family regardless of the fact that I can’t speak any English.”
A regular traveller to Sharm El-Sheikh told the Cyprus Mail that she was not surprised to hear about the fatal crash, adding that poor road conditions and unsafe driving would have likely attributed to the accident.
“I have been on that road and the genuine problems are the poor condition of the road itself and the fact that people drive just hurtle right down it. The road itself is basically straight, which may prompt drivers to speed and cuts straight through the Sinai Desert.”
Egyptian Airlines departed from Larnaca Airport for Sharm El-Sheikh at around 8.30pm last night carrying relatives of the passengers involved in the crash. The airline stated that it was a normal scheduled flight.
n The Cyprus government has issued help lines for relatives and friends wanting to find out information on the Sharm El-Sheikh accident.
Foreign Ministry: 22-401222, 22-401235, 99-660129
Egypt: +20 234-55967, +20 1033-11615
