THOUSANDS of farmers from ten villages in the Delta Governorate of Behira have attended the funerals on Sunday of ten persons, who were killed in two car crashes on Saturday morning, eyewitnesses said. After the noon prayers, mourners flooded the streets of Itai el Barood Town as the parents and family members carried the coffins to the main mosque to pay their last respects. In line with Islamic tradition, a sheikh led mourners in prayers after which the coffins were carried to nearby burial sites that saw emotional scenes. The male members of victims' families were chanting "God is Great, God is Good" and some female mourners were unable to hide their grief, wailing and reading the "Fatihah", the first verse of the Qur'an, a traditional Islamic custom at funerals. The crashes occurred on Cairo- Alexandria Highway early Saturday when four speeding mini-buses collided killing ten persons and wounding 31 others. Police said that early morning fog and over-speeding were the probable cause of the crashes, which occurred simultaneously.
