Nineteen people—most of them teenage girls—lost their lives on Friday in a tragic road accident in Egypt’s Menoufia province, when a truck collided with a minibus transporting workers to their job site.

The fatal crash occurred in the early morning hours on a regional route in Ashmoun, a city situated in the Nile Delta region north of Cairo. The minibus was ferrying laborers from the village of Kafr al-Sanabsa when it was struck by the truck, according to reports from the state-owned Akhbar al-Youm newspaper.

A list published by Al-Ahram revealed that many of the victims were minors, including two 14-year-old girls. The tragedy has stirred national grief, with Egyptian media referring to the deceased as “martyrs for their daily bread.”

Government statistics indicate that approximately 1.3 million children are engaged in labor across Egypt, many traveling long distances to worksites in overcrowded and poorly regulated transport vehicles—a factor often linked to fatal accidents.

Only three passengers survived the crash and were admitted to General Ashmoun Hospital, according to Egypt’s Ministry of Labour.

Labour Minister Mohamed Gebran has pledged compensation of up to 200,000 Egyptian pounds (around $4,000) for each victim’s family and 20,000 pounds ($400) for each of the injured.

Menoufia’s Governor, Ibrahim Abu Leimon, announced an official investigation to determine the cause, noting that preliminary findings point to excessive speeding. He also urged the Ministry of Transportation to reevaluate safety protocols on the road, which has seen multiple deadly incidents—including a crash in April that killed five members of one family.

Egypt faces a persistent crisis of road safety, with thousands of fatalities reported annually. In one of the country’s deadliest recent incidents, 35 people died in October 2023 in a fiery pileup on the Cairo-Alexandria desert highway.

Source: Al Jazeera 

SMS/