The death toll from the multi-vehicle collision that occurred Saturday on the Cairo-Suez Desert Road, near Badr City in Cairo, has risen to seven after five of the 42 injured people succumbed to their injuries in hospitals, according to security sources.
The sources explained the accident occurred on the way from Suez to Cairo, when a truck-trailer collided with several vehicles partially parked on the side of the road, triggering a chain reaction between 10 vehicles across 50 meters.
The collision completely destroyed several vehicles and spilled diesel fuel over an area of approximately five meters, necessitating the intervention of Civil Defense forces to secure the area and prevent a fire.
Several injured people were extracted from the mangled vehicles with the help of local residents.
Sources explained that ambulances transported the injured to the Badr Hospital, al-Salam International Hospital, and Fifth Settlement Hospital for treatment, while the deceased were deposited in the morgue pending the Public Prosecution’s disposal.
Preliminary investigations revealed that the truck-trailer was the cause of the accident, after its driver lost control while driving at high speed.
The Badr Prosecution office began its investigation into the accident and ordered the detention of the truck driver involved in the collision for questioning.
It also requested technical reports from forensic experts to determine the causes of the loss of control on the vehicle and estimate the full extent of material losses.
Preliminary investigations indicated that excessive speed and inattentive driving were likely causes of the accident in conjunction with heavy traffic in the area on Saturday morning.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
