CAIRO: Egyptian authorities diverted some flights and delayed the takeoff of others Sunday as a sand storm blanketed the capital, airport officials said.Bad weather and low visibility were also blamed for numerous accidents that left seven people dead and 17 injured.
At Cairo airport, at least six flights were diverted to smaller airports in Egypt, including in the southern city of Luxor and in the Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheikh, because sand storms hit the capital, said the officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media. At least eight more were delayed.
Passengers crowded Cairo International airport, waiting for delayed flights to take off.
In the Damietta province, a truck and a minibus collided because of the bad visibility, leaving seven people killed and four injured, a security official said.
He added that 13 people were injured when a bus traveling on a road between Cairo and the Red Sea overturned, apparently because of the bad weather.
The weather was not expected to clear up until Tuesday.
The Egyptian daily Al-Gomhouriya reported that sand storms hit other Egyptian provinces on Saturday, prompting many residents to close their stores and stay indoors. The Egyptian authorities restricted traffic through the Suez Canal on Sunday because the sandstorm reduced visibility, officials said.
The Suez Canal Authority excluded ships carrying more than 40,000 tons from the convoy entering the canal from the Mediterranean through the eastern branch, they said. Alexandria port reopened on Sunday after the weather had closed it for about 24 hours, but nearby Dekheila and three ports in the Gulf of Suez; Port Tawfik, El-Adabia and El-Zeitia remained closed, officials said. Agencies
