At least 12 people were killed and two others injured Sunday in a massive road accident between a passenger microbus and another vehicle at a desert highway in Upper Egypt, official MENA news agency reported.

The crash took place due to overspeed near the entrance to Sohag International Airport at Cairo-Aswan desert highway where nine ambulances rushed to the scene and moved the dead bodies and wounded people to nearby hospitals.

In response, Governor of Sohag province Ayman Abdel-Moneim formed a committee of road officials and experts to examine the Sohag airport road, provide it with necessary warning signs and study the possibility of installing wrong-way-driving barriers.

Road accidents are common in the most populous Arab country due to lack of highway monitoring systems, poor road maintenance and negligence of traffic rules.

On Aug. 15, at least 21 people were killed in a collision between three vehicles due to a tire explosion on a road in Daqahliya province northern the capital Cairo.

"Egypt loses about 12,000 lives due to road traffic crashes every year. It has a road traffic fatality rate of 42 deaths per 100,000 population," according to the World Health Organization.

Source : XINHUA