CAIRO: Thirteen people were killed when their microbus fell into a canal in Cairo, a police official told AFP on Tuesday.
The vehicle was forced off the road by a speeding car into the Maryutia canal on the road leading to the Saqqara pyramids late Monday, the official said.
Each year about 6,000 people die and 30,000 are injured in road accidents in Egypt.
Traffic regulations are often badly enforced and vehicles are poorly maintained. Many coastal and desert roads allow for high speeds, and accidents caused by reckless overtaking are frequent.
This month, at least 29 people were killed, including children, in a traffic pile-up south of Cairo
Tragedy also struck Luxor where three hot air balloons crashed in three different locations in the ancient Egyptian city, injuring a French and six Colombian tourists, police said.
Fifty-three other tourists who were on the sightseeing tour were rescued unharmed.
Police Maj. Ahmed Aboul Rous said the hot air balloons crashed because of strong winds in Luxor, 510 km south of the Egyptian capital, Cairo.
The seven hurt tourists all had broken bones and were in hospital, but Rous said none of the injuries were serious or life-threatening.
Along the Nile River, Luxor s West Bank contains the Valley of the Kings and its famous collection of well-preserved Pharaonic tombs, including King Tutankhamun s, that draw thousands of tourists daily to the area.
