At least 32 killed in pile-up on Cairo-Alexandria motorway

Speeding and fog blamed for deadly accident in Egypt

Black smoke billows from charred vehicles after a deadly pile-up on the Cairo-Alexandria motorway, near Wadi Al Natrun, in this still taken from a video posted on Facebook. AFP

A passenger bus hit a stationary vehicle amid fog on Saturday morning, and other vehicles crashed into them. Photo: @MarioNawfal / X

A man lies on the ground. Dozens of people were injured in the accident. AFP

Oil that leaked from a vehicle and poor visibility caused speeding cars to crash into one another, officials said. Photo: @MarioNawfal / X

People film at the accident site. AFP

More than 7,000 people died in road accidents in Egypt, in 2021, official figures show. AFP

At least 32 people died and dozens were injured on Saturday after a vehicle pile-up on the motorway linking Egypt's capital Cairo to the Mediterranean city of Alexandria.

The accident, which left at least 63 people injured, happened early on Saturday morning when an intercity bus travelling to Cairo collided with a car in heavy fog, authorities said.

Oil that leaked from a vehicle and poor visibility caused speeding cars to crash into one another.

The pile-up involved several vehicles, but the officials did not give a specific figure. However, the state-run daily Al Ahram said 29 vehicles were part of the crash, which took place at the town of Nubariya, about 160km north of Cairo.

Some of the vehicles in the pile up caught fire, the officials said.

Ambulances rushed to the scene of the crash to transport the injured to nearby hospitals.

Egypt has one of the world's highest numbers of annual road fatalities per capita. More than 7,000 died in road accidents in 2021.

The accidents are mostly blamed on speeding or not observing traffic regulations.