Egypt: 32 Dead, 63 Injured in Multi-Car Crash

Facts

• Authorities in Egypt have reported that a multi-car collision on a highway has resulted in the deaths of at least 32 people.¹
• According to the health ministry, the crash occurred in Beheira governorate on the Cairo-Alexandria Road, about 131 kilometers (82 miles) north of Egypt's capital Cairo.²
• Local media said that at least 29 vehicles were part of the crash, reportedly caused by a passenger bus hitting a parked vehicle on a foggy morning.³
• An oil leak from one of the cars caused several other vehicles to collide, setting some of them on fire. Several people involved in the accident burned to death.⁴
• Footage circulating online showed firefighters extinguishing the blaze and ambulances carrying the injured to nearby hospitals amid thick plumes of smoke.⁵
• According to official figures, over 7K people were killed in road accidents in Egypt in 2021. The nation has one of the world's highest rates of annual road fatalities per capita.⁶

Sources: ¹Al Jazeera, ²BBC News, ³ABC News, ⁴Sputnik Africa, ⁵Associated Press and ⁶The National.

Narratives

• Narrative A, as provided by Africa News. Fatal road collisions are common in Egypt and the main culprits are poor road conditions and failure to enforce traffic laws. Until the government invests heavily in road development and the transportation infrastructure, such deadly traffic accidents will continue to claim thousands of lives every year.
• Narrative B, as provided by Al-Monitor. In recent years, Egypt has built a network of new routes to improve the overall quality of its roads. Unfortunately, drivers' behavior — including reckless driving, overspeeding, randomly parked vehicles, and failure to observe traffic regulations — has hampered improvement and contributed to ongoing high death rates.