Mexican Secretary of Foreign Affairs Claudia Ruiz Massieu said in a Wednesday press briefing that the killing of eight tourists in Egypt last September was caused by an infringement committed by the company that organised their journey, Mexico City newspaper El-Universal reported.
In a published video of Massieu’s press conference, she stated that the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism completed part of the investigation and concluded that administrative authorities along with the tourism company that organised the tourists’ trip should have better preparation in informing authorities and acquiring authorisations.
Last September, the Egyptian security forces announced the killing 12 Egyptian and Mexican members of a tour group in the Western Desert after mistaking them for terrorists. Eight of them were Mexican tourists.
“A joint police and army force were chasing terrorist elements in the Western Desert area of Al-Wahat and they engaged by mistake with four four-wheel drives belonging to Mexican tourists who were present in a restricted area,” the Interior Ministry had said.
The Egyptian Ministry of Tourism has officially accused a company called Windows of Egypt of breaching laws and regulations in the Bahariya Oasis incident.
On Wednesday, Massieu said that investigations regarding the Egyptian military’s killing of the tourists are still pending resolutions and there are ongoing measures to compensate the surviving victims and offer psychological support.
Six survivors of the attack were Mexican tourists who returned to Mexico City a few days after the incident and were immediately taken to the Health Ministry’s National Rehabilitation Institute for specialised medical care, the Mexican Foreign Ministry had stated.
