The World - News from Dec. 13, 1987

Egypt blamed the bus driver for a crash between his school bus and a train that killed 63 people, most of them children, and injured 67. In a statement that also updated the death toll, the Cabinet said the driver had tried to avoid heavy traffic by taking an illegal short-cut across railroad tracks in the area of Ain Shams, 15 miles northeast of Cairo. He was among those killed when the oncoming train ripped the vehicle in half. Initial investigations found that the bus, designed to hold 42 passengers, was loaded with 131 people, including 110 schoolchildren, eight teachers and their relatives. Officials said it was the worst traffic accident in modern Egyptian history and among the worst anywhere involving children.