25 April 2006 — Chargé d’Affaires, a. i. (CDA) Sahid S. Glang of the Philippine Embassy in Cairo, Egypt reported to the Department of Foreign Affairs that the Embassy is coordinating with authorities in Egypt’s Sinai peninsula to determine if there were any Filipinos hurt in three bomb blasts in the Red Sea town of Dahab, Sinai at around 7:15 p.m. (local time) on 24 April 2006.

CDA Glang said that the Egyptian Interior Ministry confirmed that at least 10 people were killed and more than a hundred were injured in the blasts.  There is as yet no official information on the nationalities of the dead and the injured, although some reports state that six of the dead are Egyptians and four are foreigners, CDA Glang added.

He stated that Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has condemned the blasts, describing them as “terrorist attacks,” and vowed to punish the perpetrators.

CDA Glang said that Egyptian media reported that the first explosion was at a bazaar, the second targeted the Al-Mashrabeya Hotel and the third was near a bridge in the city center.  All three blasts occurred at tourist areas near hotels, restaurants and clubs.

The blasts happened during the Shem-el-Nessim traditional holiday celebrating the start of spring after the Coptic Easter.  CDA Glang said that the area was full of Egyptian and foreign tourists who were taking advantage of the five-day vacation that started on Friday, 22 April, and will end with the celebration of Sinai Liberation Day on 25 April.

CDA Glang assured the Department that the Embassy will continue to monitor the situation in the Sinai peninsula and coordinate with authorities to determine the condition of Filipinos there, and will update the Department on any new developments.  END