Eight killed in Egypt in vehicle train crash

Eight people were killed in southern Egypt when a vehicle crashed into a passing train on Saturday, a health ministry official said.

Eight people were also injured in the accident in Aswan province, Ehab Hanafy said. He said the driver of vehicle, which was transporting passengers for a fare, lost control and drove into the train as it was passing, crashing into its side. It was not immediately clear whether the vehicle was a microbus or an old sedan fitted out to carry more passengers.

Such accidents are common in Egypt. In March 2015, seven people were killed when a school bus and a train collided near Cairo.“Eight ambulances rushed to the place of the incident and transferred the injured to nearby hospitals,” the statement added. Egypt has one of the world’s highest accident rates owing to careless driving and poor road and vehicle conditions.  The World Health Organization (WHO) ranks Egypt as the world’s tenth worst country in road accidents, after India, China and the US.