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Egyptian bus plunges into canal, at least 35 dead

(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-12-14 19:23

CAIRO -- At least 35 people were killed and 10 injured in the Egyptian province of Minya on Sunday when the bus they were in plunged into a canal, security sources said.

Undated photo from Wikimedia shows Ibrahimia Canal in Minya. At least 35 people were killed and 10 injured in the Egyptian province of Minya on Sunday when the bus they were in plunged into the canal, security sources said. [Agencies]

They said the bus was full at the time of the accident and expected the death toll to rise once divers had finished extracting bodies.

One source said the driver, who survived, said he had swerved to avoid an oncoming vehicle and drove the bus into the Ibrahimiya Canal, one of the largest irrigation canals in the world.

Most of the dead had drowned, the source added.

Reckless driving and poor road conditions cause many road accidents in Egypt. A series of road and rail accidents in recent years has sparked repeated public outcries over the government's record on transport safety.

The government began enforcing a new traffic code in August, but after a brief initial crackdown there appears to have been little follow-up, and streets remain chaotic.