The death-toll after a microbus plunged into the Nile River on Tuesday in Monufiya Governorate, northwest of Cairo has now risen to 18.
According to local media reports, the microbus fell into the Nile River at the Abu Ghalb crossing, killing 18 out of 26 passengers.
The victims included girls aged 16 and under and a 40-year-old woman.
Initial investigations indicated that the microbus driver engaged in a verbal altercation with a person on the ferry, causing him to leave the bus without applying the brakes, causing it to fall into the river.
The driver was arrested after attempting to flee the scene.
The microbus has been retrieved from the Nile River, while rescue workers continue their operations at the site in search of the remaining victims.
The Public Prosecution in Giza on Tuesday detained a microbus driver whose vehicle fell from the Abu-Ghaleb ferry at the Monshaat al-Qanater area and two ferry workers on charges of the manslaughter of 18 people and injury of nine more.
The prosecution ordered the suspects to be referred to forensic medicine to conduct a drug test, and summoned specialists from the city council where the ferry operates.
The prosecution accused the suspects of manslaughter and operating the ferry without a license.
