At least 10 female farm workers, nine of whom were children, tragically lost their lives in Egypt when a minibus plunged off a river ferry into the Nile northwest of Cairo, according to the health ministry.
Ministry spokesman Hossam Abdelghaffar informed AFP that the death toll stands at 10 and may increase.
The driver, who had reportedly released the handbrake, was apprehended while attempting to flee the scene. Reports suggest he engaged in a verbal altercation with one of the passengers before exiting the bus.
According to a list published by Al-Ahram, two of the victims, who were all employed at an “export-oriented fruit farm” were just 13 years old.
The remaining victims were 16 and younger, except for one woman aged 40. The tragic incident occurred in the village of Abu Ghalib, approximately 50 kilometers northwest of the capital.
Villagers mobilised small wooden boats to assist search and rescue teams in scouring the area for survivors, while worried relatives anxiously awaited news on the banks of the narrow stretch of the Nile.
After a concerted effort that involved rescuers and locals swimming out to extract victims from the windows of the submerged vehicle, a crane successfully lifted the minibus from the water.
According to Al-Ahram’s list, most of the nine injured passengers were also minors.
They were swiftly transported to nearby hospitals for urgent medical attention, as confirmed by the health ministry in a statement.
Al-Ahram reported that an ongoing search operation is underway to locate five more passengers who remain unaccounted for.
The Ministry of Social Solidarity announced its commitment to offering financial compensation to the families affected by the tragedy, providing support to both the deceased and injured.
Following an initial investigation conducted at the scene, the public prosecutor’s office has instructed a technical inspection of the minibus to ascertain the circumstances that led to its submersion, as reported by Al-Ahram.
Commuter accidents are unfortunately frequent in Egypt, particularly in agricultural regions bordering the Nile and adjacent waterways, where small boats, often overloaded, transport farmers and workers regularly.
Official data indicates that Egypt, the most populous nation in the Arab world, has around 1.3 million children involved in different forms of child labor.
The majority of these children work without pay on family farms, according to the International Labour Organisation.
Additionally, rural sociologist Saker al-Nour, who extensively studies agricultural labor conditions, notes that children are frequently dispatched to toil on large-scale export-oriented farms.
Al-Nour underscores that these accidents occur frequently due to the overcrowded conditions in which girls are transported to work, likening their situation to being packed “like sardines” into minibuses and enduring “terrible conditions.”
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