Schoolbus tanker collision leaves 18 dead in Egypt

The accident happened near the Nile Delta city of Damanhur, 160 kilometres north of Cairo. More than 20 people have been injured, some of them are stated to be in critical condition.

Provincial governor Mustafa Hadhud told Egyptian television that the accident occured after the school bus had skidded after torrential rains struck the region.

It has been learnt that most of the victims are children. Citing local police,media reported that most of them have been charred to death. Some of them were burnt so badly that they were beyond recognition.

Traffic accidents are common in Egypt, with more than 1500 recorded last year alone.

Following the accident, President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi decided to send three helicopters equipped with medical supplies to the spot to carry out rescue and relief work.

In a separate incident, a truck collided with a tour bus in Kafr Al-Zayat in the central Nile Delta, setting the bus on fire and leaving two dead and 18 injured.

The accidents came just three days after a road accident claimed the lives of ten university students in Sohag Governorate in Upper Egypt.

Road accidents are responsible for an average of nearly 12,000 deaths a year in the country, according to the World Health Organization.