Eight American tourists have been killed and 21 others injured in Egypt after their bus smashed into a truck in southern Egypt.
The crash took place early Sunday as the tourists were traveling from Aswan to Abu Simbel.
The bus ran into the truck parked on the side of a single lane desert road. The national news agency said six women and two men died in the crash.
The bus' Egyptian driver and a guide were also injured in the accident.
Egyptian security officials said the hurt Americans were first transferred to a military hospital for treatment and then 10 of the injured, including two Egyptians, were airlifted to a hospital in Cairo.
An official of Misr Tours which operates the bus service said the accident occurred around dawn while it was still dark shortly after the bus left Aswan. He declined to be identified.
Abu Simbel, a popular tourist destination, is the site of two ancient Egyptian temples dating to the 13th century B.C.
The Great Temple at Abu Simbel was built during the reign of Rameses II and was dedicated to the god Amun. It is considered one of the most beautiful ancient monuments in Egypt.
The complex is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site known as the 'Nubian Monuments'.
Aswan, on the east bank of the Nile, is a busy tourist center.
Road accidents are common in Egypt because of bad roads and poor enforcement of traffic rules, and crashes involving tour groups are not uncommon.
Last month, eight foreign tourists were killed when their tour bus lost control and flipped over several times on a winding mountain road near a resort on Egypt's Red Sea coast, while in October six Belgian tourists were killed in a crash in the south.
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