Reports of the kidnapping of five Germans, five Italians, and one Romanian and their eight Egyptian guides, who were on a desert safari near the border with Sudan, first appeared in the media on Monday, but it was unclear exactly when the group was abducted.
Tourism Minister Zoheir Garranah said in interview with the MENA news agency on Monday that the tourists and their Egyptian guides were abducted last Friday, but that Egyptian authorities were put on alert only on Monday after one of the kidnapped Egyptians - the owner of a local tourist company - called his wife on a cell phone.
Media reports said Tuesday that the abductors, who are reportedly demanding a ransom of $8.8 million, threatened to kill the hostages if the Egyptian authorities attempted to determine where they were hiding.
The Egyptian Tourism Ministry said earlier that the kidnappers, whose nationality is still unknown, were "ordinary criminals" and not part of any terrorist organization.
