Twenty-one people have been killed and six injured after a bus crashed into a canal in northern Egypt.

In a statement, the health ministry said the accident happened in Dakahlia province, around 62 miles (100km) northeast of the capital of Cairo.

Dr Sherif Makeen, a health ministry official, said three children were among the dead.

The head of police investigations in the province said the driver may have lost control of the vehicle’s steering wheel.

According to Sky News Arabia, rescue teams are still looking for people in the water.

Deadly traffic accidents claim thousands of lives every year in Egypt, which has a poor transportation safety record.

Crashes and collisions are mostly caused by speeding, bad roads or poor enforcement of traffic laws.

In July, a passenger bus slammed into a parked truck in the southern province of Minya, killing 23 people and injuring 30.

In October, a truck crashed into a minibus in Dakahlia, killing at least 10 people, authorities said.