Cairo: At least 16 people were killed on Sunday in a crash involving 25 vehicles on a foggy road in Upper Egypt, health authorities said.
Twenty-one others were injured in the pile-up that occurred in the province of Bani Sueif, around 120 kilometres south of Cairo, the Health Ministry added.
The accident prompted traffic authorities to close the road to allow for evacuation of the victims and removal of the wreckage, the online edition of semi-official newspaper Al Ahram reported.
The toll is among the highest in Egypt’s recent road crashes.
Several parts of Egypt were shrouded Sunday in fog.
Foggy weather was blamed for another deadly crash near Cairo on Sunday.
Six people died in a collision between a train and a truck in the Giza town of Ayyat, the Health Ministry said.
Witnesses told local TV stations that the mishap occurred when the truck, carrying people, was driven through an unsupervised rail crossing at the time when the train was heading to Cairo. The truck driver was reportedly killed in the crash.
Egypt has one of the world’s highest rate of traffic accidents, mainly blamed on reckless driving and poor roads.
In 2014, Egyptian authorities toughened traffic penalties.
Experts blame lax law enforcement for frequent road tragedies in the country.
Around 12,000 people die due to road crashes in Egypt every year, according to the UN World Health Organisation.
