At least 38 people were killed and 41 others injured today when two tourist buses carrrying around 80 passengers, including foreigners, collided near Sharm El-Sheikh resort in Egypt's South Sinai.
The accident took place early in the morning today on the highway, 50 km from Sharm el-Sheikh, killing 38 people and injuring 41. All 38 passengers killed are Egyptians. Seven of the corpses are yet to be identified, police said.
The two buses were carrying around 80 passengers from Cairo to Sharm El-Sheikh resort including four foreign tourists: two Saudi nationals, a Yemeni and a Ukrainian tourist who are among the injured, Al Ahram reported today.
The death toll could increase, said Mohamed Lashin, Health Ministry Undersecretary in South Sinai.
Lashin said that bodies are currently being extracted from the rubble before a final death toll is determined. Thirty ambulances were rushed to the scene of the accident.
An investigation is underway to ascertain the cause of the accident.
Egypt has one of the world's highest traffic accident rates due to careless driving, road and vehicle conditions which leads to death and injury of thousands every year.
A recent report by the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics said there were 15,578 car accidents in Egypt in 2013, up 0.4 per cent from the year before, which claimed the lives of 6,716 people and injured 22,411 others.
