Russians die in Egypt bus crash

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At least six Russian tourists have been killed when their coach overturned on a highway in the Sinai peninsula in eastern Egypt, local officials say.

At least 15 other passengers, some of them foreigners, were injured when the vehicle flipped over.

It was travelling from Dahab on the peninsula's east coast to the resort of Sharm-el-Sheikh at the southern tip.

Traffic accidents are common in Egypt because of what correspondents describe as poor roads and lax traffic rules.

Some reports say a number of the injured in the latest accident are in a critical condition in hospital.

"The tourist coach seems to have crashed because of bad weather conditions," a security official told the AFP news agency.

Egypt's rugged Sinai coast along the Red Sea is dotted with resorts and is a popular holiday destination for tourists from all over the world.

It is the third time in recent months that an Egyptian bus carrying tourists has overturned with fatal results.

Seven Belgians were killed in one accident in October and three Italians died when a bus overturned in September.

And at least 55 Egyptians were killed two weeks ago when a bus plunged into a canal, south of Cairo.

Twenty-four people were killed in a bus crash in Israel last week, when a coach carrying Russian travel agents crashed near Eilat.