Jerusalem – South Africans were left traumatised after their tour bus was bombed near the Giza pyramids in Cairo, Egypt.
In exclusive footage obtained by IOL, the tourists could be seen helping eachother and getting assistance from officials.
"We have just been bombed, people. Oh my lord, are you okay? Oh God! She is hurt there," a panic-stricken woman could be heard saying in the video.
Three South Africans tourists wounded in Sunday afternoon’s explosion, which targeted their tour bus near the Giza pyramids on the outskirts of Cairo, are to remain hospitalised in Egypt while the rest of the tour group comprising 28 in all are on their way home, the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (Dirco) said in a statement Sunday night.
Egyptian state media initially reported that seven South Africans were among the injured while another 10 Egyptians were also injured when the IED which targeted the tour bus also hit a car behind it.
Exclusive footage from inside the tour bus in which 12 South Africans were injured when it was bombed near the Giza pyramids. Video: Supplied
South African ambassador to Egypt, Vusi Mavimbela, confirmed that the more seriously wounded South Africans would remain in hospital while Dirco Minister Lindiwe Sisulu wished a speedy recovery and asked the ambassador to provide all the necessary support to the South Africans.
Mavimbela and officials from the South African embassy have been engaging with the Egyptian authorities to verify facts and provide assistance to the families of the tourists.
Sunday’s attack on a road near the Grand Egyptian Museum, which is still under construction and is expected to open next year, is the second such attack on a tourist bus in the same area.
Last December three Vietnamese tourists and a local tour guide were killed after a roadside bomb hit their bus.
Nobody has yet claimed responsibility for the attack but Islamist militant groups linked with the Islamic State (IS) and Al Qaeda have been fighting an insurgency in the Sinai Peninsula, targeting both civilians and Egyptian security forces.
The attacks have also been carried out on the mainland with Egypt’s Christian Copts bearing the brunt of them after their churches were bombed.