A group of foreign tourists including five Italians kidnapped in southern Egypt on Friday may have been freed, according to a number of media reports.
The families of the hostages, all from Turin, said they had had no confirmation from the Italian foreign ministry but had been told that all the hostages were in good condition.
German daily Bild said on its website that the tourists - including five Germans and a Romanian - had been released and were on their way to Aswan, citing an anonymous spokesperson from the Aswan authorities.
But Egyptian Tourist Minister Zoheir Garana said the tourists and their eight Egyptian guides and drivers were still in Sudan, where they were taken by the kidnappers.
Earlier in the day Al Jazeera also carried a report that the tourists had been released.
The group was taken hostage by masked men on Friday during a desert safari adventure near the border with Libya and Sudan.
Garana said earlier that the kidnappers had opened ransom negotiations with the wife of the tour operator who organised the trip.
Egyptian media sources were speculating on whether the kidnappers were from Egypt, Sudan or nearby Chad.
The Italian hostages were identified as Walter Barotto, Michele Barrera, Giovanna Quaglia, Mirella De Giuli and Lorella Paganelli.
The tourists had been visiting a romantic desert spot which features in the popular film and book The English Patient.
