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Dozens dead in Egypt bus crash |
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Article Date: December 15, 2008 |
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At
least 45 people have been killed and 12 others injured in
a bus accident south of Cairo, Egypt's capital, a security
official says. Around 60 people were travelling on the bus when it ran off the road and plunged into a canal on Sunday, in the province of Minya. Police divers were searching the canal for more bodies and expected the death toll to rise. "Forty-five bodies were retrieved from the bus and 15 people were injured. Rescue workers are still working," a security official told the news agency AFP. Ahmed Diaa, the governor of Minya, said the bus swerved to avoid an oncoming lorry, but the state news agency said the driver had lost control of the bus while attempting to overtake another vehicle. The bus was travelling on a narrow road when it ran off the road into the Ibrahimiya Canal, near the village of Bahrut about 200 kilometres from Cairo.
Accidents common
On Monday, fifteen students were killed when a bus overturned on its way from Minya to Alexandria.
Egyptian roads are considered highly dangerous, with thousands of accidents every year. Regulations are not fully enforced and vehicles are badly cared for.
About 6,000 people die and 30,000 are injured in road accidents in Egypt annually. Source: Agencies |
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