The death toll to blasts in the Egyptian tourist resort of Sharm el-Sheikh in Sinai Peninsula early Saturday rose to 49, with over 136 others injured, police confirmed.

They said four suspected car bombs rocked the Sharm el-Sheikh bazaar and hotels at nearby Naama Bay.
 
The blasts caused huge casualties, and foreign tourists may be among those killed, they added.

Earlier, police sources said the first explosion took place shortly after 1 AM local time (22:00 GMT Friday) and minutes later other explosions were heard from the direction of Naama Bay which has dozens of luxury hotels popular with divers and holidaymakers from Europe.

Residents said the blasts were so powerful that the shock could be felt 1 km away.

Windows closer to the blasts were blown out, fire and smoke could be seen billowing over Sharm el-Sheikh, they said.

According to rescue teams on the scene, one of the bombs went off inside Ghazala hotel and another destroyed part of a shopping mall.

Pan-Arab Al-Arabiya TV reported that 13 security guards and four security officials were on the list of the missing.

The blasts occurred as the popular Sinai resort was at the peak of its summer tourist season.

On Oct. 7, 2004, Islamic militants detonated bombs in Egypt's Sinai resorts of Taba and Ras Shitan, killing 34 people, mostly Israelis, and wounding more than 100.

(Xinhua News Agency July 23, 2005)