Cairo: At least 19 people were killed early Thursday in a collision involving two passenger minibuses and a truck in Upper Egypt, security sources said.
Three others were injured in the mishap that took place on a desert road linking the southern cities of Sohag and Assiut, they added.
Fourteen ambulances were dispatched to the site of the crash to transport the victims to hospitals, Governor of Sohag Ayman Abdul Moneim said in media remarks.
He added that all hospitals in Sohag have been in a state of emergency in the aftermath of the tragedy.
The crash is believed to have resulted from high speed.
“I call on drivers not to exceed speed limits especially when they drive at night on high ways,” Abdul Moneim said. “Most accidents on high ways result from crazy speeding.”
Egypt has one of the world’s top road accident records mainly due to reckless driving, ill-kept vehicles and poor routes.
On Tuesday, seven people were killed and 11 injured after a bus and a truck collided on a highway on the outskirts of Cairo, according to the Health Ministry.
The government has recently toughened traffic penalties in an attempt to curb road accidents.
Over the past four years, a large network of new roads has been built across Egypt, the Arab world’s most populous country with a population of 95 million.
