47 children killed in Egypt road crash

47 young children were killed on Saturday when a train collided with their bus in the central Egyptian province of Assiut, the official MENA agency reported.

The bus, which was taking 60 children on a trip organised by their nursery, was struck on a railway crossing in Manfalut, 356 kilometres (220 miles) south of Cairo, police said. The children were between four and six years old.

Several children were also injured in the accident and the death toll could rise, a police source told AFP.

President Mohamed Morsi has ordered the prime minister, the ministers of defence and health and the governor of Assiut "to offer all the assistance to the families of the victims," MENA said.

Transport Minister Rashad al-Metini and the head of the Egyptian Railway Authority have resigned in the wake of the accident, state media reported.