Ananova
A heavy sandstorm has
engulfed most of Egypt, reducing visibility to less than 500 metres and forcing
several flights - including a plane carrying Sudanese President Omar el-Bashir
- to land elsewhere.
President El-Bashir, who is on a one-day official
visit, instead landed in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheik, where he met Egyptian
President Hosni Mubarak.
Airport officials say five other international
flights were diverted from Cairo either to Cyprus or to the southern Red Sea resort
of Hurghada, some 300 miles south of Cairo.
They included a British Airways
flight from London, Ghana Airways from Nairobi, CorsAir from Paris and EgyptAir
from Dar es Salaam.
In the Suez Canal area, port authorities declared a
state of emergency for possible disruption to traffic in the strategic waterway.
Weather
forecasters expect the sandstorm, centred in the Western Desert, to last for two
days.
Egypt is often hit by fierce sandstorms at this time of the year.
In
the Lebanese capital Beirut, a similar storm has reduced visibility to 500 yards
and briefly disrupted air traffic.
Jets operated by Air France, AirLanka
and a private plane from Abu Dhabi were kept circling over Beirut airport. |
