Nineteen people were killed when a minibus and a pickup truck collided late Sunday night in Upper Egypt.
The accident occurred around 10.30pm on the secluded Western Desert Road outside the village of Al-Karabela, according to Amr Abdel Wahab, head of public affairs at the Aswan Security Directorate.
The only survivor of the head-on collision remained in a coma in critical condition as of Monday afternoon.
The cause of the accident was not immediately available, but head of the Aswan Security Directorate Hassan Al-Sohagy ordered an investigation into the incident.
According to state-run Al-Ahram, Aswan Governor Mostafa Yousri has decided to cancel Aswan National Day celebrations—scheduled to occur this week—to mourn those killed.
The source of nearly 42 traffic deaths per 100,000 people annually, Egypt’s roads are the third most dangerous in the world, according to the World Health Organisation. An average of 12,000 people are killed on Egypt’s roads every year.
