Egypt tour bus collision kills 33 near Sharm El-Sheikh

Sharm El-Sheikh is a major foreign holiday destination in Egypt

Two tour buses have collided near Sharm El-Sheikh in Egypt's Sinai peninsula, leaving 33 people dead and 41 injured, officials say.

One of the vehicles overturned in the crash which happened early in the morning about 50km (31 miles) from the popular holiday destination.

Ukrainian, Saudi and Yemeni citizens are said to be among the injured, some of whom are in a critical condition.

Egypt's roads and railways have a notoriously poor safety record.

Thirty ambulances were sent to the scene to take the injured to nearby hospitals and the local motorway was closed off.

According to Egypt's state news agency Mena, one of the buses was heading from Sharm El-Sheikh to Cairo when it hit a bus coming in the opposite direction.

First reports said that Russian citizens may have been among those hurt but updates referred to a Ukrainian.

Among other recent traffic accidents in Egypt

• Last November, at least 26 people were killed and 28 injured when a train crashed into a minibus and other vehicles south of the capital, Cairo

• In 2012, nearly 50 children died when a train hit their school bus south of Cairo, after a signal operator fell asleep. That disaster led to the resignation of the transport minister

• Egypt's worst train disaster was in 2002, when a train caught fire in Cairo, killing 373 people