At least 14 people, including 12 schoolchildren, drowned Wednesday when the bus they were traveling in crashed and plunged into a canal in southern Egypt, AFP reported, citing local police.
The children, aged between 10 and 12, were on a public bus taking them home after classes when it hit an articulated lorry before crashing into the Asfun canal in the Esna region, 750 kilometers (470 miles) south of Cairo.
The police said the toll could rise, as emergency services were still trying to retrieve more bodies. The number of passengers on the bus was not known.
Twenty-eight other people, whose ages were not specified, were injured in the incident. Another six escaped unhurt from the waters near the villages of Al Qaraya and Al Mashabek, the police said.
The injured were taken to a hospital in Esna for treatment, they said.
Both vehicles plunged into the canal after their collision, the reasons for which were unknown.
Last month, Egyptian Minister of Transport Ibrahim Demiri cited official studies as saying that 69 percent of road accidents in the country are caused by the recklessness of drivers. Previous studies said the percentage is as high as 85 – Albawaba.com
