Another crash in Egypt leaves 20 dead

At least 20 people died when a bus and a truck crashed in central Egypt on Wednesday.

A passenger bus and a cement truck collided on a desert road in the city of Asyut on the Nile river. The Egyptian state-owned Al-Ahram news outlet reported that 20 people were killed and three others were injured. 

The crash was the latest in a recent string of transportation tragedies in Egypt. On March 26, two passenger trains collided in the southern province of Sohag, killing at least 19. Prosecutors said this week that the incident was caused by negligence. On Feb. 22, at least nine people died when their boat capsized in a lake near the coastal city of Alexandria. The boat was one of many unlicensed vessels that do not always adhere to safety regulations, officials said at the time, and the owner was subsequently arrested.

Road safety has long been an issue in Egypt, and the government has made efforts to upgrade motorways and amend traffic laws in recent years. Road accidents fell by around 30% in 2019, according to Al-Ahram.