CAIRO — At least nine people died and seven others injured in a car crash north of the Egyptian capital on Sunday, the state-run news agency said.

The MENA news agency said the crash took place when a microbus collided with a small truck on a highway in the Nile Delta town of Banha, around 60 km (37 miles) north of Cairo.

The injured were taken to a nearby hospital, MENA said. The report blamed speeding for the crash.

Deadly traffic crashes claim thousands of lives every year in Egypt, which has a poor transportation safety record. These crashes are mostly caused by speeding, bad roads or poor enforcement of traffic laws.

In a separate accident, eight citizens were injured in a multi-vehicle collision early Saturday on the Ring Road in Cairo. The collision led to car fires, but there are no deaths reported, according to the Ministry of Health.

The country’s official statistics agency says more than 8,000 road accidents took place in 2018, leaving over 3,000 dead and around 12,000 injured. — Agencies