20 killed, three injured in bus-truck crash in southern Egypt

A bus has overturned while trying to pass a truck on a highway in southern Egypt, causing a collision that killed at least 20 people and injured three others.

The bus was travelling from Cairo when it turned over and was hit by the truck on a road in the southern governorate of Assiut, 320km (199 miles) south of the capital Cairo, Assiut Governor Essam Saad said in a statement. Both vehicles caught fire.

Photos released by the governor’s office showed a burned-out bus with rescue teams looking for survivors. The victims were taken to nearby hospitals.

Thirty-six ambulances rushed to the scene, the health ministry said.

Traffic accidents kill thousands every year in Egypt, which has a poor transportation safety record. Crashes are mostly caused by speeding, bad roads, or poor enforcement of traffic laws.

Eighteen people were killed in March when a truck collided with a minibus in the Giza governorate. At least 20 people were killed and nearly 200 people wounded injured when two trains collided near Tahta, about four hours south of the capital, last month.

The country’s official statistics agency says about 10,000 road accidents took place in 2019, the most recent year for which statistics are available, killing more than 3,480 people. In 2018, there were 8,480 car accidents, causing 3,080 deaths.