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Dozens killed in Egyptian blasts

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4709491.stm

At least 43 people have been killed and more than 130 wounded in a string of explosions in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, police said.

The first explosion took place in the Old Market area, popular with tourists.

Other blasts followed in the nearby area of Naama Bay, which is packed with hotels. Witnesses said a four-star hotel was heavily damaged.

Police sources said initial reports suggested there had been at least four and possibly seven car bombs.

The first blast, which took place shortly after 0100 local time (2200 GMT), shook windows some distance away, and smoke was seen rising over the area, residents said.

'Eerie calm'

The Naama Bay explosions followed about 15 minutes later, close to the Ghazala Gardens and Moevenpick hotels.

One witness, Fabio Besone, who was at the nearby Hard Rock Cafe, said there were scenes of panic, with people running to get away.

"There was shrapnel everywhere, the front of the hotel had been completely blown away, a couple of bodies lying down on the front of the road - I have no idea if they were alive or severely injured," he told the BBC.

Samantha Hardcastle, a British tourist, was having a drink on the terrace of the Naama Bay Hotel with her husband when they heard a loud explosion, followed by a second one a few minutes later.

"There's just an eerie sense of calm at the moment," she said.

"Just horrific, I've never been so scared in the whole of my life."

The Sharm el-Sheikh area is popular with tourists from Israel, Jordan, Egypt and Europe. Naama Bay is packed with hotels.

Last October, 34 people died in car and truck bombs at Red Sea resorts on the eastern coast of the Sinai Peninsula.

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