CAIRO: At least 16 Egyptian students were killed in a head-on collision between two trucks south of Cairo while on their way to school Wednesday, police said. Another eight students, all between 15 and 16 years old, were injured in the early morning accident that took place on the main highway headed east out of Cairo. About 6,000 people die and 30,000 are injured in road accidents each year in Egypt. The transport ministry says they are the second-highest cause of death in the country and experts estimate they cause annual losses of up to 350 million dollars. Traffic regulations are often badly enforced while maintenance of vehicles is also poor. Many of the country s coastal and desert roads allow for high speeds and accidents caused by reckless overtaking are frequent.
