20 dead after bus and truck collide in Egypt

At least 20 people have died and three others were injured when a bus overturned while trying to pass a truck and both vehicles caught fire in southern Egypt.

The bus was travelling from Cairo when it turned over and was hit by the truck on a road in the southern province of Assiut, 199 miles south of Cairo, Assiut governor Essam Saad said in a statement.

Photos released by the governor’s office showed a burned out bus, with rescue teams looking for survivors, while the statement added that victims were taken to nearby hospitals.

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.

The country’s official statistics agency says around 10,000 road accidents took place in 2019, the most recent year for which statistics are available, leaving more than 3,480 dead.

In 2018, there were 8,480 car accidents, causing more than 3,080 deaths.