At least 15 young workers died in Egypt on Tuesday and three were missing when a minibus fell from a ferry into the Nile River due to a technical fault, local authorities said.
The minibus, which was transporting 26 young people aged 17 to 25 to the farm where they worked, was on a ferry crossing the Monshayet al-Qanater area in Giza province.
A “sudden technical failure” in the vessel’s securing system caused the vehicle to fall into the water, a security source told local newspaper Al Shorouk, quoted by Spanish news agency EFE.
According to the source, security forces, with the help of the population, managed to save several young women, including two wounded ones who were taken to the hospital.
The Ministry of Health subsequently said that eight young people were rescued alive.
The search for the three girls, still missing in the waters of Abu Ghaleb, northwest of Cairo, continued for some time after the accident.
Eight ambulances, security agencies and maritime rescue units were at the scene.
The minibus was lifted from the water and will be handed over to the technical commission for inspection and evaluation.
A preliminary investigation revealed that the driver of the minibus got into a “violent argument” with one of the vessel’s passengers, prosecutors said.
After an argument, “he left the vehicle without checking the brakes, which caused the minibus to break down and fall into the Nile River.”
Giza security services detained the driver of the minibus, Al Shorouk newspaper reported.
The young women were from a village in the center of Ashmoun, in the Menoufiya governorate, northwest of Cairo, and worked for a fruit export company.