AS IT IS 2016-05-21 EgyptAir Crash Is Another Blow to Egypt’s Recovery

AS IT IS 2016-05-21 EgyptAir Crash Is Another Blow to Egypt’s Recovery

As Egypt’s tourism industry is trying to recover from a terror-related air crash in 2015, the crash of flight 804 has dealt another setback¹ to the country’s efforts.

The EgyptAir jet was carrying 66 people when it crashed Thursday as it approached Cairo on a flight from Paris.

Egypt's army said it found debris² from the EgyptAir jet in the Mediterranean³ Sea. Recovery teams continue the search for wreckage⁴.

Egyptian officials have raised the possibility that the crash might have been terrorism in a possible repeat of events last year.

Tourism Suffering

It would be the third terror attack against foreign visitors in Egypt in the last 12 months if terrorism is found to be the cause of the crash.

Egypt’s economy is highly dependent on tourism. The World Travel and Tourism Council says tourism makes up 11 percent of the country’s economy.

Russians visit Egypt the most, with Britons and Germans being the next largest groups of visitors, according to the website Euromonitor.

Yet tourism fell four percent last year and is expected to decline by the same amount in 2016, the World Travel and Tourism Council says.

In late October 2015, a Russian plane leaving the resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh crashed, killing⁵ 224 people. A local branch of Islamic State militants⁶ claimed responsibility for bringing down that plane.

Afterwards, both Russia and Britain suspended flights to the popular resort area. That incident was another major blow to Egypt’s tourism industry. Once a major source of income, tourism in Egypt has been declining since 2011.

That year, a popular uprising led to the ouster of long-time President Hosni Mubarak. The elected government of Mohammad Morsi of the once-outlawed Muslim Brotherhood⁷ replaced Mubarak’s in 2012.

But Morsi clashed with Egypt’s military and was himself was removed from office the next year and put on trial for abuse of power. He is awaiting sentencing.

Too Early to Know if Terrorism Cause Crash

The latest air crash threatens Egypt’s efforts to improve security and bring back foreign visitors.

Because the flight started in Paris, three French investigators⁸ and a technical expert from Airbus arrived in Cairo one day after the crash. They are to aid in the investigation⁹.

France’s foreign minister on Friday rejected comments that terrorism is to blame for the crash of the EgyptAir flight. He said there is “absolutely no indication” as to what brought down the plane.

On French television, Jean-Marc Ayrault said, "We're looking at all possibilities, but none is being favored over the others."

However, Egyptian Aviation Minister Sherif Fathy said France would be responsible for any security lapse¹⁰ if terrorism is found to be the cause of the crash. He again offered the theory that terrorism is more likely than mechanical problems as a possible cause of the crash. However, he said no group claimed responsibility for the crash.

Egypt in Fight Against Extremists

The air crash takes place as Egypt combats extremism in the Sinai Peninsula.

Egypt’s military is carrying out operations against Islamic State fighters in that area, according to the top U.S. general.

General Joe Dunford is chairman of the Joint¹¹ Chiefs of Staff. He told a small group of reporters Thursday that, “The Egyptians are taking the fight to the Islamic State (IS) right now.”

Dunford said he was looking forward to hearing the results of Egypt’s ongoing¹² operations in the Sinai. He was unable to provide further details.

The U.S. estimates the number of IS fighters there to range from the hundreds to about 1,000.

The general said there also is a “sizable Bedouin insurgency” in the Sinai that has cooperated with IS fighters.

The Sinai is an isolated¹³ territory. Egypt’s military is positioned to the West and Israel’s military is to the East.

The U.S. military says it sees connections between fighters in the Sinai and Islamic State militants across the Middle East.

Words in This Story

indication – n. a something that shows or points to another thing

lapse – n. an occurrence when something is missed

debris – n. what is left after something is destroyed, wreckage

1 setback   

n.退步，挫折，挫败

参考例句：

• Since that time there has never been any setback in his career.从那时起他在事业上一直没有遇到周折。
• She views every minor setback as a disaster.她把每个较小的挫折都看成重大灾难。

2 debris   

n.瓦砾堆，废墟，碎片

参考例句：

• After the bombing there was a lot of debris everywhere.轰炸之后到处瓦砾成堆。
• Bacteria sticks to food debris in the teeth,causing decay.细菌附着在牙缝中的食物残渣上，导致蛀牙。

3 Mediterranean   

adj.地中海的；地中海沿岸的

参考例句：

• The houses are Mediterranean in character.这些房子都属地中海风格。
• Gibraltar is the key to the Mediterranean.直布罗陀是地中海的要冲。

4 wreckage   

n.（失事飞机等的）残骸，破坏，毁坏

参考例句：

• They hauled him clear of the wreckage.他们把他从形骸中拖出来。
• New states were born out of the wreckage of old colonial empires.新生国家从老殖民帝国的废墟中诞生。

5 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

6 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

7 brotherhood   

n.兄弟般的关系，手中情谊

参考例句：

• They broke up the brotherhood.他们断绝了兄弟关系。
• They live and work together in complete equality and brotherhood.他们完全平等和兄弟般地在一起生活和工作。

8 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

10 lapse   

n.过失，流逝，失效，抛弃信仰，间隔；vi.堕落，停止，失效，流逝；vt.使失效

参考例句：

• The incident was being seen as a serious security lapse.这一事故被看作是一次严重的安全疏忽。
• I had a lapse of memory.我记错了。

11 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

12 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

13 isolated   

adj.与世隔绝的

参考例句：

• His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
• Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。