MOSCOW, November 17 (RIA Novosti) - Egypt's Transport Minister Mohammad Rashad al-Metini resigned following a road crash on Saturday that killed 50 people, mainly school children.
Eighteen others were seriously injured when a train collided with a school bus in the central Egyptian province of Assiut, the Mena news agency reported.
There were about 60 children between four and six years old on the bus when it stuck on a railway crossing near a village in the Manfaloot district.
The head of the Railway Authority, Mostafa Qenawi, also resigned.
In a televised statement, President Mohamed Morsi offered condolences to the victims' families and promised financial compensation and emotional support.
Egypt's Prosecutor General Abdel-Meguid Mahmoud has ordered an investigation into the accident.
According to the Railway Authority, the bus driver drove over the crossing even though the warning lights and sirens were on, in full view of the guard and a traffic policeman, ahramonline reported.
