Israeli rescue services said dozens of people were also seriously injured in the crash. A local official said the tourists were from St Petersburg, Russia, and had just arrived in Eiliat.

The Magen David Adom rescue service told Reuters that there were about 60 passengers on the coach.

The accident took place on a desert road near the Egyptian border.

Around 30 ambulances rushed to the scene, and Israel’s air force sent six helicopters to evacuate the seriously wounded.

Michel Alexei, the bus owner, told the Israeli Yediot Ahronot website that the scene “looks like a battlefield”.

Television footage showed that the bus had rolled down a slope into a ravine.