Egypt ferry accident claims 17 lives

Seventeen people have drowned after a bus fell off a ferry into the Nile River.

An official says the minibus was packed with 32 passengers, mostly mourners heading to a funeral across the river, when the accident took place today in the southern province of Bani Suief.

He says the bus slid off the ferry and sank because the emergency brake was not on.

He says rescue workers pulled 10 survivors out while five people are still missing.

Egypt has frequent transport accidents, mainly because of poor maintenance and the lack of regulations. A ferry sinking in 2006 killed more than 1,000 people.