10 killed as microbus overturns into canal in Egypt

At least 10 people were killed and two others wounded Wednesday when a microbus overturned into a canal in Egypt's Daqahliya province north of Cairo, reported the state-run Al-Ahram news website.

In the early morning on Wednesday, Egyptian traffic authorities temporarily closed several main roads nationwide, including highways connecting Cairo with Suez, Ain Sokhna and Alexandrian cities, due to the heavy fog in order to avoid traffic accidents.

Also on Wednesday, a private car killed a pedestrian after the vehicle struck a pavement on a highway in Upper Egypt's Luxor province, according to the official MENA news agency.

Traffic accidents are common in Egypt due to nonexistent highway monitoring systems, poor road maintenance and negligence of traffic rules.

"About 12,000 people die annually in Egypt due to road traffic crashes, a road traffic fatality rate of 42 deaths per 100,000," stated a report from the World Health Organization.

source: Xinhua