At least 13 people were killed and more than 30 others injured when a passenger bus collided with a heavy goods lorry on a desert road in Egypt on Tuesday, according to the country's Ministry of Health and Population, in reports carried by Gulf News. The crash occurred at kilometre 55 near the Dahshur gate, before the entrance to the regional road leading towards Giza governorate, the ministry said in an initial report.

The ministry's first statement, reported by Xinhua, put the toll at 12 killed and 30 injured and said the accident happened on the Cairo–Asyut Western Desert Road, involving a bus belonging to a private company and a truck. State media later reported 13 dead, and Al-Ahram newspaper, cited by News Central and Africanews, reported 13 killed and 34 injured. An AFP correspondent reported that authorities were clearing the highway after the crash and that a crane lifted the badly damaged bus, whose front section had been torn off.

Ministry spokesman Dr Hossam Abdel Ghaffar said the Egyptian Ambulance Authority initially sent 28 ambulances to the scene before deploying additional vehicles, and ambulance teams from Giza, Fayoum and Beni Suef also joined the operation. The injured were taken to nearby hospitals for examination and treatment. Health and Population Minister Dr Khaled Abdel Ghaffar directed hospitals to raise their readiness and ensure medical resources were available, the ministry said.

The ministry cautioned that the reported death and injury figures were preliminary and said further updates would follow as casualty assessments continued. It expressed condolences to the families of those killed and wished the injured a speedy recovery. Sources: Egypt Ministry of Health and Population via Xinhua/Qazinform and Gulf News/TOB; Al-Ahram via News Central/Africanews.