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70,000 Russian Tourists Evacuated From Egypt

Russian tourists leave the country after their vacations, at the airport of the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. Asmaa Waguih / Reuters

More than 70,000 Russian tourists have been evacuated from Egypt since the crash of Kogalymavia flight 9268 in the Sinai Peninsula last month, said an adviser to the head of the Rosturizm watchdog, the TASS news agency reported.

There are about 5,000 Russian vacationers left in the country, said Svetlana Sergeyeva: about 3,000 in Hurghada and about 2,000 in Sharm El-Sheikh.

Tourists and their luggage have been evacuated from Egypt separately. Military transport aircraft have been used to deliver luggage to Moscow, where ground services are responsible for unloading and sorting it.

About 480 tons of luggage had been transported back to Russia as of Nov. 13, according to the Emergency Situations Ministry.

Egypt is the second most popular foreign destination for Russian tourists after Turkey. According to the BBC, 3 million Russians visited Egypt in 2014, making up one-third of all visitors to the country.

Russian banned all flights to Egypt on Nov. 6. The ban is going to last for several months at least, the head of the presidential administration, Sergei Ivanov, said last week.

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