17 killed, four wounded in vehicle crash in southern Egypt

A vehicle collision in southern Egypt has killed at least 17 people, and left four others injured, authorities said on Wednesday.

The crash took place late Tuesday when a passenger microbus collided with a truck on a highway in the district of Juhaynah in Sohag province, 390 kilometers (244 miles) south of the capital Cairo, provincial authorities said.

Ambulances rushed to the scene to carry bodies and the injured to provincial hospitals, authorities added in a statement.

Deadly traffic accidents claim thousands of lives every year in Egypt, which has a poor transportation safety record. The crashes and collisions are mostly caused by speeding, bad roads or poor enforcement of traffic laws.

In July, a passenger bus slammed into a parked trailer truck on a highway in the southern province of Minya, killing 23 people and injuring at least 30.