At least 16 people were killed and 20 others injured Tuesday when a bus flipped on the Safaga-Qena highway in the Red Sea governorate, reported state-run Al Ahram. The bus, which was heading to Qena from Safaga when the accident occurred, was carrying around 35 passengers. A statement by the Ministry of Interior's media centre in the Red Sea governorate said the crash took place between the bus and a truck. The statement added that a flat tire is believed to be the reason for the accident which caused the truck driver to lose control of the vehicle. "The bus, which belonged to a local tourism company, was hired by the Mother Duology church in Esna to carry the passengers from Hurghada," said the statement. According to Al-Ahram, all of the injured passengers were transferred to the Hurghada public hospitals while the deceased were transferred to Safaga hospital. Road accidents are a common occurrence in Egypt. Last March, nine people were killed as a tourist bus flipped due to inclement weather conditions en route to Hurghada. Last month, twenty people were killed in three separate road accidents.
