Official inquiry into death in September 2015 of eight Mexican tourists and four Egyptians is nearing completion, Mexico’s foreign minister says

This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

An official Egyptian investigation into an airstrike on a group of Mexican tourists that killed 12 people has suggested a travel agency they hired was to blame, according to Mexico’s foreign minister.



Eight Mexican tourists and four Egyptians died on 13 September 2015 when they came under fire during a lunch stop in Egypt’s Western desert while on their way to the Bahariya oasis.

Egyptian security forces bombed their vehicles from the air. Survivors say they were hit by strikes from a plane and a helicopter.



Cairo has previously said its military mistakenly killed the tourists as they were in a restricted area during a government operation against violent extremist fighters.

An Egyptian government investigation into the attack was nearing completion, Mexico’s foreign minister, Claudia Ruiz Massieu, said on Wednesday.

The Egyptian tourism ministry “found that the administrative authorities and the travel agency should have had more clarity on the permit and in that sense would eventually be responsible”, she added.

Cairo has promised a full and “transparent” inquiry, although media in Egypt have been banned from publishing any details on the incident or the investigation.