At least 49 people have been killed and more than 130 wounded in a string of bomb attacks in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.

The first explosion took place in the Old Market area, popular with tourists.

At least two more blasts followed in the busy Naama Bay area, where a car bomb tore off the front of the four-star Ghazala Gardens hotel.

Britons, Dutch, Qataris, Kuwaitis and Egyptians were among those killed and wounded, police sources said.

Police sources said there had been at least three car bombs. Earlier reports had suggested there were up to seven explosions.

The blasts came within minutes of each other, shortly after 0100 local time (2200 GMT), when the bars and markets were busy with tourists.

In Naama Bay, there were explosions outside the Ghazala Gardens and Moevenpick hotels.

TV pictures showed heavy damage to the Ghazala Gardens hotel, with parts of the building burned out and walls collapsed.

'Shrapnel everywhere'

One witness, Fabio Besone, who was at the nearby Hard Rock Cafe, said there were scenes of panic, with people running to get away.

"There was shrapnel everywhere, the front of the hotel had been completely blown away, a couple of bodies lying down on the front of the road - I have no idea if they were alive or severely injured," he told the BBC.

In the Old Market area, 17 people - believed to be Egyptian workers - were killed as they gathered at a street cafe, rescue officials said.

"I saw a car flying up in the air, people running," restaurant owner Yehya Mohammed told Reuters.

"I do not think I will ever forget this in my life. This is a horrible setback for tourism here."

The Sharm el-Sheikh area is popular with tourists from Israel, Jordan, Egypt and Europe. This is the height of the summer tourist season.

Last October, 34 people died in car and truck bombs at Red Sea resorts on the eastern coast of the Sinai Peninsula.

Those bombings were the first major attack in Egypt since 58 tourists were killed in the town of Luxor in 1997.

That's rough. Do they have any idea who was behind it?

My understanding is that it was Al-Qaeda, according to what I last heard on the BBC.