Egypt: 10 killed as minibus swerves into canal

Ten people died and eight others were injured when a minibus swerved to avoid a child and went into a canal in northern Egypt today.

The child was not harmed, a police officer said. The accident happened on a road in the Nile Delta province of Menoufia, around 40 miles north of Cairo.

The police officer said the driver of the bus had been speeding.

Road accidents are common in Egypt because of bad roads, high speeds and poor enforcement of traffic laws. Traffic police say an estimated 8,000 people were killed and 320,000 injured in road accidents in Egypt in 2003.