This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/middle_east/7629171.stm
The article has changed 15 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 6 | Version 7 |
|---|---|
| Eleven tourists seized in Egypt | Eleven tourists seized in Egypt |
| (29 minutes later) | |
| Eleven European tourists have been kidnapped along with eight other people while making an off-road tour of southern Egypt. | |
| Five Italians, five Germans and a Romanian were taken along with eight travel guides and drivers. | |
| Reports said the abduction, near the Gilf al-Kebir plateau, was carried out by tribesmen or bandits. | Reports said the abduction, near the Gilf al-Kebir plateau, was carried out by tribesmen or bandits. |
| Egypt's tourism minister said a ransom had been demanded and negotiations were under way. | Egypt's tourism minister said a ransom had been demanded and negotiations were under way. |
| A ministry statement said: "This is an act of banditry not of terrorism." | A ministry statement said: "This is an act of banditry not of terrorism." |
| Minister Zoheir Garana told Associated Press news agency that a ransom of up to $6m (£3.24m) had been demanded. | Minister Zoheir Garana told Associated Press news agency that a ransom of up to $6m (£3.24m) had been demanded. |
| Kidnappings of foreigners in Egypt have been very uncommon in recent years. | |
| But BBC Arab affairs analyst Magdi Abdelhadi says an incident like this could dent Egypt's reputation as a safe destination for foreign tourists and deliver a blow to an industry that brings in $8bn a year. | |
| Israeli denial | Israeli denial |
| The tourism ministry said abducted with the foreigners were two guides, four drivers, a guard and the owner of the travel company who had organised the trip to Gilf al-Kebir, near the Libyan border. | |
| Gilf al-Kebir is a giant plateau famous for its prehistoric cave paintings. | Gilf al-Kebir is a giant plateau famous for its prehistoric cave paintings. |
| Local tourist guides inside southern Egypt told news agencies that the tourists were travelling in three or four off-road vehicles. | Local tourist guides inside southern Egypt told news agencies that the tourists were travelling in three or four off-road vehicles. |
| There were unconfirmed reports that the group may have been taken across the border into Sudan. | There were unconfirmed reports that the group may have been taken across the border into Sudan. |
| The Egyptian Mena news agency reported that the tour company owner had called his wife on a satellite phone to say the group had been kidnapped by five masked men speaking English "with an African accent". | |
| The German and Italian foreign ministries confirmed that five nationals from each of their countries were among the group. | The German and Italian foreign ministries confirmed that five nationals from each of their countries were among the group. |
| Both said they had set up crisis teams to deal with the incident. | Both said they had set up crisis teams to deal with the incident. |
| The German ministry said its nationals had been missing since Friday. | The German ministry said its nationals had been missing since Friday. |
| There were initially reports that the group included Israeli tourists. But Israelis were not mentioned in later reports, and the Israeli foreign ministry denied any of its nationals were involved. | There were initially reports that the group included Israeli tourists. But Israelis were not mentioned in later reports, and the Israeli foreign ministry denied any of its nationals were involved. |