CAIRO: A bus plunged into a canal alongside the Nile River in southern Egypt on Monday, killing 17 passengers and the driver, the state Mena news agency reported.A pickup driver who apparently caused the accident near the village of Beni Mazar in Minya province, also died. Some 40 surviving passengers were taken to nearby hospitals for treatment, Mena reported.The accident occurred as the bus driver scrambled to avoid a collision with the speeding pickup trying to pass him, police chief Mahmoud Noureddin was quoted as saying. As the bus swerved, the truck driver also lost control and overturned his vehicle.Rescue workers managed to retrieve 18 bodies, including that of the bus driver.Minya is 135 miles south of Cairo. -AP
