Egypt’s health ministry says 13 killed in road accident

CAIRO – Egypt’s Health Ministry says a deadly road accident has left 13 people dead and eight others injured in south Cairo.

The ministry says Saturday’s accident happened when a small bus crashed into a truck on the main road connecting the southern city of Beni Suef to Cairo. All those killed were on the bus, which was carrying 17 people.

Road accidents are common in Egypt due to badly maintained roads and poor enforcement of traffic laws. The World Health Organization says such accidents kill around 12,000 people in Egypt annually.

The country’s official statistics agency says 14,700 road accidents took place in 2016.

Egypt generally has a poor transportation safety record. In August, two passenger trains collided outside Egypt’s Mediterranean port city of Alexandria, killing 43 people and injured scores.