BRITISH tourists were aboard a bus which overturned in Egypt's Sinai peninsula and caught fire early today, killing at least seven people.

BRITISH tourists were aboard a bus which overturned in Egypt's Sinai peninsula and caught fire early today, killing at least seven people.

Authorities say the death toll could rise after many of those injured suffered severe burns.

The bus overturned at Abu Zenima, about 40 miles south east of the Suez Canal, then the fire swept through the vehicle which was left gutted.

Around 40 tourists from Britain, Canada, Italy, Russia and the Ukraine, as well as the UK were aboard.

Ali Haridi, an Egyptian who was sitting near the driver when the accident occurred, said the bus flipped and he was so disorientated he "couldn't tell where the driver was".

Mr Haridi, who received burns and cuts, spoke by mobile phone from an ambulance which he said was carrying several injured tourists, including a woman whose hand had been severed and another who was severely burned.

Egyptian roads see frequent accidents because of speeding, careless driving and poor road conditions. At least 8,000 people were killed in accidents in 2006 in the most recent statistics.