At least ten people have died in a tourist bus crash in southern Egypt, including five European nationals.
The bus collided with a truck on a road near the city of Aswan on Wednesday before bursting into flames, Egyptian authorities said.
Four French nationals and one Belgian are confirmed to have died, as well as five Egyptians. At least 14 others were injured, including another eight people from France and six from Belgium.
The cause of the crash was not immediately clear.
The bus had been travelling to the Temple of Esna on the west bank of the Nile River, some 55 kilometres south of the ancient city of Luxor.
Many bodies were charred, and the injured suffered from burns, bruises and fractures, a health official told AP.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi said he was closely following the crash and had instructed the government to “provide all medical and treatment care for the victims of the tragic accident.
“I extend my sincere condolences and sympathy to the families of the deceased,” he wrote on Twitter.
Egypt’s Health Ministry said 30 ambulances were sent to the scene and had taken the causalities to hospitals.
Aswan Provincial Governor Ashraf Attia said the injured were in a stable condition.
Wednesday’s accident came five days after a bus crashed on a road near the Red Sea, killing three people, including two Polish tourists.
Traffic accidents are common in Egypt, where roads are often poorly maintained and traffic laws are not respected.
There were around 10,000 road accidents leaving more than 3,480 people dead in Egypt in 2019, according to the country’s official statistics agency.
Add Comment