At least 10 people, including a three-year-old boy, were killed and 11 others injured in a traffic accident in northern Egypt, the official MENA news agency reported on Sunday.

The tragedy occurred near the Delta city of Benha, north of Cairo, when a minibus crashed into the back of a truck carrying steel bars, said the report.

Ten people were killed on the spot and 11 others were seriously injured, said the report, adding the injured have been rushed to nearby hospitals for treatment.

Traffic accidents are common in Egypt with an estimated death toll of some 6,000 annually.

At least 44 people were killed and 35 others wounded on July 16 when a train collided with a number of cars near the Mediterranean coast city of Marsa Matruh.

The Egyptian traffic authorities implemented a new traffic code with tougher punishments for lawbreakers as of August 1 in a bid to curb road accidents.

(Xinhua News Agency August 18, 2008)