CAIRO -- At least 30 people were killed and eight injured on Saturday in two road accidents in Egypt.

The official news agency MENA reported that 15 people were killed and seven injured when a truck collided with a minibus coming from the opposite direction when it tried to pass another truck in Sawamei area on the Old Salehiya-Husseinya Highway in Egypt's Sharqiya governorate.

A similar accident took place in Ismailiya governorate on Saturday, leaving at least 15 people died and one injured, according to the website of Egypt's official newspaper Al-Ahram.

Investigation into the causes of the two accidents has been launched.

Traffic accidents are common in Egypt, killing at least 10,000 people each year, according to official reports.

Lack of highway monitoring systems, poor road maintenance and negligence of traffic rules are behind the high rate of road accidents in the country.