2 die in Egypt after truck slides off ferry, plunges into Nile

At least two people have died and eight are still missing after a small truck they were riding in slid off a ferry and plunged into the Nile River, say authorities in Egypt.

The accident happened just outside of Cairo yesterday, in the town of Monshat el-Kanater in Giza province, the office of the public prosecutor says in a statement.

The statement says the driver lost control of the truck while the unlicensed, rickety ferry was transporting it across the river. The truck was carrying 24 workers, including children, returning home from a farm where they worked, it says.

Fourteen people were rescued, and rescue workers were still searching for the missing, it says.

Authorities have arrested the truck diver and three ferry workers, and were searching for the ferry’s owner, the statement says.

Ferry, railway and road accidents are common in Egypt mainly because of poor maintenance and the lack of regulations.