Fifth Briton confirmed dead in Egypt bombings

The Foreign Office has confirmed that a fifth Briton was among those killed in last month’s bombs in an Egyptian holiday resort.

Five Britons are still missing, feared dead, following the triple explosions at the Sharm al-Sheikh resort on July 23. The official death toll from the attacks stands at 64, but it is feared that it could eventually rise as high as 88.

The Foreign Office has not yet released the name of the fifth Briton killed.

Among the first victims named in the attacks was Keri Davies, 29, from Fareham, Hampshire. He had been on holiday in the resort with his American girlfriend, Kristina Miller, 26, who also died in the blasts. They had been staying at the Ghazala Gardens hotel, which was blown up by a car bomb.

It has also been reported that the bodies of Valerie Bracci, 70, from Canvey Island, Essex and Lesley Ayers, 50, from Basildon, Essex, had been recovered. The mother and daughter had also been staying at the Ghazala Gardens hotel and had been due to return home the day after the attacks.

The Abduallah Azzam Brigades, a group from Syria and Egypt with reported links to al-Qaeda, claimed responsibility for the attack on an Islamic web site shortly afterwards. The claim has not been verified.

There have been fears that Egypt’s tourism industry will suffer a devastating blow following the triple bomb attacks. It was reported that many tourists left the Sharm al-Sheikh resort in the wake of the blasts. However, according to more recent reports, tourists are beginning to return to the resort, in what is being viewed as a gesture of defiance towards international terrorism.

A report in ‘USA Today’ said that tourists were becoming “increasingly resilient,” as attacks such as last year’s bombings in Madrid and July’s bombings in London showed that terrorists could now strike anywhere.

It reported that after bomb attacks in the Taba Hilton and the country’s Sinai Peninsula last October, tourism in Egypt had bounced back six months later, with an increase in tourist visits of 15% compared to the same period in 2004.

The report said that hotels in Sharm al-Sheikh were reporting 60% occupancy. It is still a dramatic decrease from the levels prior to the bomb attacks, but USA Today said that the tour operators remained hopeful of a relatively quick recovery for tourism.

(KMcA/SP)