Traffic accident in S. Egypt kills 8, injures 44

CAIRO, July 7 (Xinhua) -- At least eight people were killed and 44 others wounded early Thursday when a truck hit a bus in southern Egypt, Egypt's official news agency MENA reported.

Rescuers rushed to the scene of the accident at Aswan-Abu Simbel road and transferred the injured to Aswan Public Hospital, according to the report.

There were 56 passengers onboard the bus, which was traveling from Sudan. According to Ahmad Mesilhy, an officer with the Aswan Security Directorate, the majority of the victims were Sudanese.

Road accidents are common in Egypt because of shoddy road maintenance and lax enforcement of traffic laws.

In order to lower the number of traffic accidents, Egypt has been upgrading its road network over the past few years by building new roads and bridges and repairing existing ones.