afrol News, 31 October - At least 6 tourists have perished and 26 injured in a road accident when a bus overturned in Egypt's southern Aswan region, a security official said.

An official said a bus en route to ancient temple at Abu Simbel, a famous tourist attraction was speeding when it lost control and overturned several times.

Official said injured were taken to Abu Simbel hospital, but said five with severe injuries were moved on to country's capital Cairo for specialist treatment.

"An inquiry was ordered into the cause of the accident," he said.

The dead and injured were all from Belgium.

In Brussels, Belgian Foreign Ministry spokesman Francois Delhaye confirmed that 30 Belgian nationals were involved in the accident and that six of them had died.

Delhaye said Belgian authorities were in "constant contact" with tour operators and Egyptian authorities to aid the injured and to ensure their quick return to Belgium. He also added the most seriously injured had been transferred to Cairo for medical care.

The tour operator that ran the trip said it was trying to ensure Belgians return to Brussels by Saturday.

Transport disasters have been common in North African country and most of them were blamed on "negligence and poor maintenance." However, the latest one has been linked to brakes failure of the truck.

Over the years, Egypt has topped the world in the number of road accidents, with the Ministry of Transport putting annual figure at 8,000 people killed in accidents in 2006, according to most recent statistics available.

Egypt has a history of serious bus and car crashes because of speeding, careless driving and poor road conditions.

By staff writer

© afrol News

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