2 killed, 8 missing as truck plunges into Nile River

At least two people were killed and eight others are still missing in Egypt as a truck with 24 passengers plunged into the Nile River near the capital Cairo, the Egyptian public prosecution said in a statement on Tuesday, reported Xinhua.

The accident took place on Monday evening in a village at Monshaat Al-Kanater district of Giza province. The passengers, including children, were onboard the truck on their way back from a farm where they were working, according to the statement.

The truck driver attempted to take the vehicle on an unlicensed ferry to the opposite bank of the river when the accident happened.

Rescue workers saved 14 passengers, and teams are still searching for those missing.

"The car driver and three workers of the unlicensed ferry have been arrested and the arrest of the ferry's owner is underway," the statement said.

Daily road accidents are common in Egypt due to poorly maintained road infrastructure and loosely applied traffic regulations.

At least 16 people were killed and 18 others wounded on Jan. 8 in a bus crash on the international highway in the Sinai Peninsula in north-eastern Egypt.

Over the past few years, Egypt has been upgrading its road network, building new roads and bridges, and repairing existing ones.

Deaths from road accidents in Egypt dropped by 44 percent in 2019-2020, according to the Egyptian Ministry of Planning and Economic Development.