The bus was completely destroyed by the blast

Helyn Bennett, 21, from Spennymoor, County Durham, died when an explosion ripped through a minibus in the popular resort of Kusadasi on Saturday.

Her boyfriend, Stephen Staples and brother Adam Brown, were among 11 others injured in the blast.

At least six of the injured are thought to be from the North East.

The Foreign Office said Toni Punshon, Sam Punshon, Adam Megoran and Michael Aspinall were in hospital and all thought to be from the North East.

A spokesman for Durham Police said: "We can confirm that the victim is from County Durham. Officers from Durham Constabulary are assisting the Turkish authorities in their investigation."

The family of Ms Bennett issued a statement through the Foreign Office, saying: "We are truly saddened by the tragedy that has struck our family.

"We are grateful for the excellent work and support of the staff at the Ege and Kent hospitals.

"We will be returning to the UK as soon as we are able and we would ask that, at this time, the media will respect our privacy."

The injured were being treated at the Ege University hospital in Izmir.

Dr Oscar Hudaverdi, told news agencies that Mr Staples and Mr Aspinall were on life support machines.

He said: "Both the men are on mechanical ventilation machines, but we are hoping to take them off them later today or tomorrow."

Police had initially feared the blast was the work of a female suicide bomber, but said they now believed explosives were planted on the vehicle.

The attack happened shortly after 1030 local time on Saturday as the bus made its way from the town bus station towards an area known as Kadinlar Denizi, or Ladies Beach.

'Close family'

Shocked neighbours of Helen Bennett said she and Mr Staples had taken the bus to visit the beach while mother Sharon Holden and stepfather Tommy Holden, a former amateur footballer for Spennymoor, took a day trip to the Greek mainland.

Neighbours John and Shelly Richardson said: "Helen and Stephen had just bought a house."

Mr Richardson said Ms Bennett's brother Adam had just left school and was going to college.

He added: "They are a really nice family. Helen and Stephen used to live next door to us. They seemed to be a really close family."

Turkish authorities believe Kurdish PKK separatists planted Saturday's bomb on a tourist bus.

Sir Peter Westmacott, the UK ambassador to Turkey, visited the injured Britons in hospital.