'I have never been so scared'

Doctors say several of the injured are in a serious condition

Holidaymakers at the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh have been describing scenes of panic which followed a series of bomb blasts.

At the time of the blasts, at about 0100 (2200 GMT), many people were out at bars and cafes or strolling the streets, while others were asleep in their hotel rooms.

"My wife and I and two friends were in a street cafe about 50m from where the explosions happened," said Charlie Ives, a police officer from London who had gone on holiday after helping in the aftermath of the British bomb attacks two weeks ago.

"[There were] two explosions within the space of four minutes.

"First, a huge explosion and a state of panic, lots of people running everywhere and we tried to get away from them. We started walking and four minutes later the second one went off."

I saw a car flying up in the air, people running Yehya Mohammed

Another British police officer, Chris Reynolds, described the aftermath as "horrendous".

"There seemed to be a lot of bodies strewn across the road," he told the BBC by telephone.

An Italian man described how he and his wife were taking a stroll near the shops after leaving their 17-year-old son at their hotel, the Ghazala Gardens, which was hit by a large explosion.

"When the explosions went off, we rushed back to the Ghazala but he was not in his room," Giuseppe Pasquale told news agency AFP.

"I don't know what to do. They wouldn't let me in to the hospital."

A restaurant owner described the first explosion in the Old Market area of Sharm el-Sheikh.

"I saw a car flying up in the air, people running," Yehya Mohammed told Reuters news agency.

"I do not think I will ever forget this in my life - this is a horrible setback for tourism here."

'Horrific'

Eyewitness Fabio Basone told the BBC he was at the Hard Rock Cafe in Naama Bay when he heard a first, small explosion.

He saw burned things coming out of the car, like charcoal, and a lot of smoke Yahia Gabr

"Everything calmed down and then a few seconds later a louder explosion caused mass panic," he said.

"We went outside on to the street where we were met with hundreds of people running and screaming in all directions.

"I saw the front of a hotel had been blown away, there was shrapnel everywhere.

"There were two bodies on the floor but I don't know if they were dead."

Yahia Gabr, who works for the Sinai Grand Casino, said a friend who was coming from the Naama Bay area was "shocked, terrified" after witnessing a car explode in the middle of the resort.

"He saw burned things coming out of the car, like charcoal, and a lot of smoke."

British tourist Samantha Hardcastle said she had "never been so scared in the whole of my life".

"Me and my husband were sat outside our hotel when a massive explosion went off and another followed three minutes later," she told the BBC.

"The explosion we felt was very violent and the hotel we are staying in shook. It was absolutely horrific."