At least nine people were killed and 28 wounded when a bus carrying European and Canadian tourists overturned and caught fire Thursday in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, the Associated Press reports.

Dr. Said Issa, director of emergency services in the Sinai, said the bus was carrying approximately 40 tourists, mostly from Canada, Britain, Italy and Eastern Europe from the Sinai resort of Sharm el-Sheik to the Egyptian capital, Cairo. The vehicle overturned at a sharp curve on a highway at Abu Zenima, and then a fire swept through the bus, Issa declared.

According to officials, nine passengers died and 28 were injured. It appears that the bodies were transferred to a local clinic, while the survivors were rushed back to a larger hospital in Sharm el-Sheik, Egypt's state news agency, MENA, reports. A security official gave a breakdown of nationalities of those wounded: 13 Russians, four Britons, two Italians, two Romanians, two Canadians, one Ukrainian and four Egyptians.

The four locals that were killed included two police officers who were providing security on the bus. Three of the dead were burnt beyond recognition.

Security officials mentioned the cause of the accident was not immediately known.

Each year nearly 6,000 people die and 30,000 are injured in road accidents in Egypt. In March, 23 people were killed when two trucks collided head on, AFP reports.

Millions of tourists visit Egypt every year, with tourism accounting for about 20% of the country's foreign currency revenue.