Blast rocks Hilton hotel

2004-10-07 22:52

Cairo - A strong explosion shook the Hilton hotel in Egypt's Taba resort, only metres from the Israeli border, on Thursday night, witnesses said.

Israeli medics said they had been informed of "a large number of casualties" and had ambulances standing by at the border.

"The whole front of the hotel has collapsed," witness Yigal Vakni told Israel's Army Radio.

"There are dozens of people on the floor, lots of blood, it is very tense."

"I am standing outside of the hotel, the whole thing is burning and they have nothing to put it out with," he added.

"There is nothing here."

The blast could be heard strongly 1km from the hotel, said Selma Abu el-Dahab, who works at another Taba hotel.

She said a worker from her hotel returned from the Hilton and told of the explosion before collapsing.

Taba is the main crossing between Israel and Egypt and the gateway for thousands of Israelis who travel to the hotels and resorts on the Red Sea.

Thursday is the last day of the weeklong Jewish festival of Sukkot, when thousands of Israelis vacation in the Sinai.

Vakni said most of the people at the Hilton were Israeli.

"I was in the casino when it happened," he said. "There was a massive explosion and the left wall came down. People started to run around like crazy."

On September 9, the Israeli government urged citizens not to visit Egypt, citing a "concrete" terror threat to tourists in an area.

The warning, issued by the counter-terrorism centre in the Prime Minister's office, identified Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, where Taba is located, as the target of a potential attack.

"Recently a concrete possibility has emerged that terrorists will try to attack tourist centers in Egypt, especially the Sinai," the Israeli foreign ministry said in a statement published on its website.

- AP