17 killed, 3 injured in vehicle collision in southern Egypt

Cairo: Seventeen people died and three others were injured after a bus and a truck collided in Upper Egypt, Egyptian media reported on Wednesday.

The crash occurred late Tuesday when a passenger minibus rammed into a truck carrying cattle in Sohag governorate, around 465km south of Cairo. The fatalities included five people whose identities were not identified yet, Al Watan newspaper said.

The cause of the collision was not immediately clear. Authorities dispatched 22 ambulances to the scene of the accident.

Last month, seven people from one family were killed in a road crash in Sohag. Reckless driving is the main reason for road crashes in Egypt.

In recent years, Egyptian authorities have toughened penalties against traffic offences and built a network of nationwide roads.