Egypt bus crash leaves at least 23 dead and 30 more injured on desert highway
Cairo — At least 23 people were killed and 30 more left injured Tuesday when a bus traveling down a desert highway in eastern Egypt slammed into a truck, officials said.
CBS News' Ahmed Shawkat said the accident took place in the early hours of Tuesday morning as the bus, heading for Cairo, crashed into the back of a truck that had pulled over so the driver could fix a flat tire, according to a statement provided by officials in the Minya Governorate.
Video from the scene posted online by local authorities showed much of the front and one side of the bus completely destroyed.
Ambulances rushed to the scene to transfer the injured to hospitals in Minya. The Health Ministry said at least 16 of the injured were discharged from hospitals after receiving treatment.
Traffic accidents kill thousands every year in Egypt, which has a poor transportation safety record. Crashes are mostly caused by speeding, careless driving, bad roads or poor enforcement of traffic laws.
In January, at least 16 people were killed and 18 others injured when a microbus collided with a public transportation bus in the Sinai Peninsula. In April last year, a bus overturned while trying to pass a truck on a highway in the southern province of Assiut, leaving at least 21 people dead and three others injured.
