At least 18 people, including many children aged 13 to 14, lost their lives in northern Egypt on Tuesday when two pick-up trucks transporting agricultural day laborers collided, as reported by a local medical source to AFP.
Earlier, Egypt’s health ministry mentioned 47 casualties in total, with around 30 injured, in the accident that occurred in the Dawawis area of the Ismailia governorate.
Overcrowded pick-ups are a common yet hazardous transportation method for millions of Egyptian informal workers, posing significant risks to child laborers.
“Most of the deceased are children aged 13 and 14,” the source informed AFP, preferring to remain anonymous due to lack of media briefing authorization.
The medical source was unable to provide immediate detailed figures, but local media outlet Al-Masry Al-Youm noted the youngest victim was 10 years old.
Official statistics indicate that at least 1.3 million minors are involved in some form of child labor in Egypt, frequently falling victim to commuting accidents.
The workers, mainly from two villages in the Nile Delta governorate of Sharqiya, were “heading to work on a farm in Ismailia,” shared a local security source with AFP.
Authorities have launched an investigation into the crash’s cause, and the injured have been taken to nearby hospitals for treatment.
According to the International Labour Organization, informal work makes up nearly 67 percent of employment in Egypt, encompassing nearly the entire agricultural sector.
Between 8 and 13 million people are estimated to work as “irregular” day laborers—mostly in agriculture, construction, and manufacturing—without robust wage and safety protections.
AFP
