Minibus slams into parked pickup truck killing 15 in southern Egypt

CAIRO — A speeding minibus slammed into a pickup truck parked on the side of a desert road in southern Egypt on Tuesday, killing at least 15 people, authorities said.

The fatal crash happened on the eastern bank of the Nile River near the town of al-Saff, roughly 34 miles (55 kilometers) south of the capital, Cairo, Egypt's Interior Ministry said. Two women were also injured in the accident and later taken to hospital, it said.

The minibus was speeding when the crash happened and the pickup truck driver, who survived the accident, was detained for questioning, according to the ministry's statement. An investigation was underway to determine the causes and circumstances around the accident, it added.

Fatal traffic accidents are frequent in the North African country. In May, a passenger bus slammed into a slow-moving truck on a highway in southwestern Egypt, killing 17 people. In February, six people were killed when a pickup truck and a minibus collided near Egypt’s eastern city of Ismailia.

Accidents are often the result of badly maintained roads, poor enforcement of traffic laws and reckless driving and kill thousands of people every year.