MINYA: The number of dead after an Egyptian bus plunged into a canal hit 60 on Monday after rescue workers pulled five more bodies from the murky water, an official said.
The bus carrying 73 passengers crashed into an irrigation canal off the main highway between the Nile Valley city of Minya and Beni Sueif, south of Cairo, on Sunday after the driver swerved to avoid an oncoming truck.
“A 60th body has been recovered from the canal. Three people remain unaccounted for, a security official told AFP.
All 10 survivors of the accident have now been released from hospital after treatment for minor injuries, the official added.
Frogmen sent into the canal to comb the waters for survivors had suspended their efforts late on Sunday with 55 bodies recovered.
All of the dead drowned before rescue teams could reach them, a hospital official told AFP.
It was the deadliest road accident in Egypt since 1987, when 63 Egyptians were killed in a collision between a bus and a train.
A ticket collector told investigators that the bus was designed to carry a maximum of 50 passengers, a police officer told AFP.
However, some reports put the number of passengers at above 100, basing the number on the tickets sold by the conductor.
A police official said the bus driver had been speeding in excess of 100 kilometers per hour and had lost control when he tried to avoid the oncoming truck.
Minister of State for Judicial Affairs Mufid Shehab told the official MENA news agency that it was likely that the drivers of both the bus and the truck would face prosecution.
Poor road conditions and vehicle upkeep compounded by lax traffic regulations cause thousands of accidents in Egypt each year. A new traffic law came into force in August with the aim of improving road safety.
Traffic accidents kill around 6,000 people and injure another 30,000 each year, according to transport ministry figures. -AFP
