CAIRO, October 31. /TASS/. The number of Russian tourists who suffered food poisoning in a four-star hotel in Hurghada on the Red Sea coast in Egypt rose to 40 people and the hotel was closed for the violation of sanitary rules, the Egyptian Federation of Tourist Chambers told TASS on Sunday.
The Russian tourists were accommodated at other hotels, it specified.
"Forty people turned to the hospital for assistance. By now, four have been discharged from it and 36 others are undergoing medical treatment. The health condition of all the patients is satisfactory, stable and not life-threatening. Doctors can discharge them from the hospital on Monday," it said.
Russian Consul General in Hurghada Viktor Voropayev told TASS on Sunday that the local sanitary authorities had decided to close for 48 hours the AMC Royal hotel in Hurghada whose guests had been hospitalized after food poisoning.
"The tourists are being accommodated at other hotels. The consulate general is keeping a close eye on the situation. In particular, diplomats will find out whether only Russians suffered food poisoning," he said.
It was later reported that the local prosecutor’s office had closed the hotel indefinitely for the violation of sanitary rules and it would hardly reopen soon.
"The Prosecutor’s Office has launched a probe at the AMC Royal hotel," the Federation of Tourist Chambers explained.
"The hotel may face not only big financial penalties but also its full closure with the revocation of its license for failure to comply with sanitary requirements for foodstuffs, beverages and services," it said.
The air traffic between Russia and Egyptian resorts resumed on August 9 following a six-year break, after a plane of Russia’s Kogalymavia airline crashed in Sinai on its way from Sharm el-Sheikh to St. Petersburg on October 31, 2015. There were 217 passengers and seven crew members on board. All of them were killed in the crash. Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) qualified the incident as a terrorist attack.
Following the resumption of air traffic between Russia and Egypt, the demand for vacations on the Red Sea has soared. However, many tourists are complaining about the low level of services.