An Egyptian emergency services official has put the death toll from a series of bombs in Sharm al-Shaikh at 75.

The toll continued to rise throughout Saturday after a cafe and two luxury hotels in the Red Sea resort were attacked in the early hours.

Medical sources in the resort have anticipated that the number of people killed in the explosions may reach 80, Aljazeera's correspondent reported.

The deaths occurred in two car bomb blasts and another explosion, possibly a third car bomb. A rescue official said at least 136 people were wounded, but that figure could also reach 200.

Foreigners among dead

British people, Dutch, French, Spaniards, Qataris, Kuwaitis and Egyptians were among the casualties, police sources said.

Shaken tourists spoke of mass panic and hysteria as people fled bomb after bomb, with bodies strewn across the roads.

A rescue official said many of the wounded were Egyptian workers who had gathered at a cafe in the old market where the first blast struck. The blasts occurred on what is a national holiday in Egypt, Revolution Day.

He said 17 of the dead were burnt beyond recognition by the explosions.

A team from the Dutch embassy in Cairo was heading to the resort after rumours that Dutch tourists were among the casualties, the Dutch foreign ministry said.

Britain announced that some of its nationals were among the dead, and a similar ambassadorial team was being sent to the scene.

Rescue operation

Rescue teams continued searching for survivors and bodies under the debris, Aljazeera correspondent Husayn Abd al-Ghani reported.

The Red Crescent fears some victims are still stuck under the debris, he said.

The toll is expected to rise, as many people have been seriously injured, he added.

The Egyptian security authorities have stepped up security measures inside and outside Cairo International airport following the explosions.

Israel has offered to send army rescue teams to assist in the clear-up operation, but is not planning to order the repatriation of the 10,000 nationals estimated to be holidaying in the Sinai resorts.

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has ended his holiday and arrived at the resort to examine the situation.

Serious injuries

The blasts came within minutes of each other shortly after 1am (2200 GMT), at a time when many tourists were still out in bars and markets in the popular and hitherto safe resort. They appeared to be co-ordinated.

A police source said one bomb appeared to have exploded near the bazaar in Sharm al-Shaikh itself, with at least three more in the luxury hotel strip of Naama Bay about 6km away, popular with divers and holidaymakers from Europe.

A tourist bazaar, the Ghazala Gardens Hotel and the Moevenpick Hotel were the targets there, he said. One witness said a taxi rank was also hit. Earlier reports put the number of explosions at seven.

The Ghazala Gardens hotel was destroyed, as were four cars parked in front of it, by the explosion Abd al-Ghani reported.

Glass shrapnel was scattered at the explosion site, while the cafe, in front of the hotel was also destroyed.

Car bomb

According to South Sinai Governor Mustafa Afifi a car broke into the Ghazala Gardens Hotel's compound and exploded in front of the building, collapsing the reception lobby into a pile of concrete. Egyptian tourist hotels always have police guards at the gates.

"Many of the injuries are very serious and they are in critical condition," said a doctor at Sharm al-Shaikh International Hospital.

Fire and smoke billowed over Sharm al-Shaikh after the first explosion there, one resident said.

Residents said the blasts shook homes 10km away and blew out windows closer to the blasts.

The Muslim Brotherhood Movement issued a statement denouncing the explosions, Aljazeera's correspondent in Egypt reported.

Bomb after bomb

Charlie Ives, a London policeman on holiday after dealing with the aftermath of bombings in the British capital, said he and his wife tried to get away from the scene of a first bomb only to witness a second one four minutes later.

"The whole area was quickly covered in debris. There was a huge ball of smoke that mushroomed up, it was mass hysteria," he told BBC World television.

Tourist Fabio Basone told the BBC the front of one hotel had been completely blown away, with car and shop windows blown out. "People were trying to run in any direction to get away, but were not clear where to go," he said.

PHOTO CAPTION

A damaged car seen outside a building following an explosion in Egypt's Red Sea resort of Sham el-Sheik early Saturday July 23, 2005. (AP)