Egypt: Bus falls into canal in Nile Delta, killing at least 21

A bus fell into a canal in Egypt's Nile River Delta region Saturday (Nov 12) killing at least 21 people, the country's Health Ministry said.

One of the ministry officials added that three children were among the dead.

Police, river rescue forces and ambulances from the Daqahliya province were dispatched to the site of the accident.

Injured passengers were evacuated to a local hospital.

The Public Prosecution office which is investigating the incident accused the minibus driver of making a phone call when driving.

He was arrested and preliminary tests allegedly revealed that he was under the influence of drugs, according to a judiciary source.

Citing figures from the Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics, state media Ahram reported that while traffic injuries across Egypt dropped last year, traffic deaths increased by 15.2 percent.