More than 30 people killed in a multi-vehicle pileup on a highway in Egypt

Issued on: 28/10/2023 – 13:42

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The multi-car pileup, which set some vehicles ablaze, left at least 63 others injured, said the Health Ministry. Ambulances rushed to the scene of the crash on the Cairo-Alexandria desert road to transport the injured to nearby hospitals, it said.

Local media reported that the bus was on its way to Cairo when it hit the parked vehicle. Other cars slammed into the bus with some catching fire.

Footage circulating online showed many burned vehicles on the side of the road with firefighters extinguishing the fire. In one footage many vehicles were seen on fire with thick plumes of smoke billowing from them. 

The state-run daily al-Ahram reported that 29 vehicles were part of the crash which took place at the town of Nubariya, about 160 kilometers (100 miles) north of Cairo.

The Egyptian Meteorological Authority warned of heavy fog on highways a day earlier, according to local reports. 

Deadly traffic accidents claim thousands of lives every year in Egypt, which has a poor transportation safety record. The crashes and collisions are mostly caused by speeding, bad roads, or poor enforcement of traffic laws.

(AP)