MORE than 60 Egyptians were killed and 10 injured when their bus plunged into a canal south of Cairo on Sunday. The bus was carrying 104 passengers returning to Cairo after spending the Eid holiday in Minya. Preliminary investigations suggest the bus swerved into the canal to avoid an oncoming truck as it travelled on the main highway connecting Cairo to Minya. Frogmen were still searching the waters of the Ibrahimiya canal on Tuesday for the bodies of missing passengers, including several university students. A prosecution team is currently at the scene investigating the accident. Police have detained both the truck and bus driver for questioning. At least 20 ambulances rushed to site, as well as residents from the nearby village of Dahrut, about 200km south of Cairo, who tried to help the survivors. It is the deadliest road accident in Egypt since 1987 when 63 Egyptians were killed in a collision between a train and a bus. The stretch of highway close to Dahrut is a notorious black spot for accidents, with many drivers complaining it is too narrow for two-way traffic.
