The European hostages kidnapped in the Egyptian Sahara Friday are well and their lives are under no threat, Egyptian Tourism Minister Zoheir Garana said Tuesday.
The minister said he had received confirmation that the 11 - five Italians, five Germans and a Romanian - are in ''excellent health'' and had ''enough food and water''.
He did not say who provided the information.
Garana denied earlier press reports that the wife of one of the hostages had received a phone call saying they would be killed if planes were sent to find them or a raid was mounted to free them.
The kidnappers are believed to be holding the 11 and their eight Egyptian guides somewhere across the Egyptian border in Sudan.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, a Sudanese government source told ANSA the gang was ''zigzagging'' along Sudan's border with Egypt and Libya, ''closer to the Libyan side''.
There are at present no plans to stage a raid to free the hostages, the source said.
There have been conflicting reports about whether negotiations are underway with the gang, who have reportedly demanded a $6 million ransom.
The kidnapping, the first ever in a country with a history of attacks on tourists, gained international headlines Tuesday.
