Egypt road crash leaves 13 dead and 34 injured after a bus collides with a truck

A large truck crashed into a tour bus west of the Egyptian capital on Tuesday, killing 13 people and injuring 34, state media reported.

The Al-Ahram newspaper said "13 individuals were killed and 34 others injured in the tragic collision between the bus and the truck on the Cairo-Asyut Western Desert Road".

An AFP correspondent reported that authorities were clearing the highway. A crane lifted the large bus, the entire front section of which was ripped off, leaving behind mangled steel and debris.

Passenger seats were scattered by the roadside, while debris from the bus was visible on the rear of the truck.

Al-Ahram reported that the injured were receiving treatment at a hospital in Giza, and an investigation was underway to determine the cause of the crash.

Road accidents are common in Egypt and are often blamed on reckless driving, poor maintenance and uneven law enforcement.

Last year, nearly 6,000 people were killed in road accidents across the country, according to Egypt's state statistics agency.

Last month, a bus crash in Sinai killed 22 people, including 10 Jordanian tourists.

In August, at least 18 people, many of them children, were killed in northern Egypt when two pick-up trucks carrying agricultural day-labourers crashed.