Hicran
January 20, 2010

A strong storm in the Middle East has caused the death of a British tourist.

The man named as Luke Day by the Egyptian media was killed when a sailing boat he was travelling on capsized on the Nile near Aswan.

The vessel was carrying Mr. Day and his wife as well as another tourist from India and one from Canada. It has been reported that everyone else survived the accident. A spokesman for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office has confirmed the death of a British tourist in southern Egypt near the town of Luxor and has said that officials are in contact with the man’s family.

The heavy wind and rain sweeping across Egypt and Israel is causing flash floods in which at least another six people are already reported to have lost their lives. On the Red Sea five Egyptian ports have been forced to close because visibility is extremely poor and the seas are too rough.

The main road to the coastal resort of Eilat was also blocked for a time. Sharm el Sheik’s airport has been damaged by the strong winds and rain and flooding in the area has brought down power lines and phone lines. The poor weather also meant that Israel had to close its borders with both Egypt and Jordan for a while.

Ferry services and Nile cruises have been disrupted near the popular tourist destination of Luxor where there have also been a number of power failures.