An explosion rocked a tourist bus near Egypt’s Giza Pyramids wounding 17 people, according to officials.
The wounded included South African tourists and Egyptians, officials said on Sunday. There were no reports of deaths.
Pictures on social media showed at least one person covered in blood and a bus with some of its windows blown out or shattered.
Security and judicial sources said a rudimentary device containing nails and pieces of metal had been detonated remotely on the perimeter of the Grand Egyptian Museum, not far from the site of a roadside blast that hit another tourist bus in December.
The Grand Egyptian Museum is still under construction and not open to tourists.
The museum is due to open next year as the new home for some of the country’s top antiquities on a site adjoining the world-famous Giza pyramids. It is part of an effort to boost tourism, a key source of foreign revenue for Egypt.
Sunday’s blast came as Egypt’s vital tourism industry showed signs of recovery after years in the doldrums because of the political turmoil and violence that followed a 2011 uprising that toppled former leader Hosni Mubarak.
There was no damage to the museum from the blast, which happened 50 meters from its outer fence and more than 400 meters from the museum building, the Antiquities Ministry said in a statement.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility.
It was the second such incident involving foreign tourists near the famed pyramids in less than six months.
In December, three Vietnamese tourists and an Egyptian guide were killed when a roadside bomb hit a tour bus less than four kilometres from the Giza landmarks.
Monica Walker is a journalist at WIC News who is dedicated to uncovering the truth. Her writing covers a wide range of topics, from breaking news to human-interest stories. Contact Monica at contact@wicnews.com
