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Nine children were killed and two others injured after a motorised tricycle plunged into a canal in southern Egypt on Tuesday.
In a statement posted on Facebook, the Assiut Governor’s Office said the tricycle veered into the canal near Abu Tig in the southern province of Assiut.
According to local media, the crash was caused by a steering malfunction. The tricycle was carrying children aged 10 to 17 who were travelling from their homes to nearby farms to work.
“My nephew is one of the nine who died. They are people below zero, they have nothing, and they work on farmland for one hundred pounds a day, and they spend on their homes (these children),” Gamal Suleiman, an uncle of one of the victims, told AP.
The governor’s office said the victims’ bodies were taken to Abu Tig Hospital but did not provide further details on the condition of the two injured children.
Photographs released by the governor’s office showed dozens of people gathered at the scene as rescue divers searched the canal.
Assiut Governor Mohamed Elwan directed authorities to strengthen safety measures, including installing concrete barriers along the canal.
Road traffic accidents kill thousands of people in Egypt each year. Experts have attributed the country’s high crash rate to speeding, poor road conditions, and weak enforcement of traffic regulations.
