CAIRO, Mar 21 (Aswat Masriya) - The families of a dozen victims who were killed in an accident in Giza on Saturday morning will each be paid 10,000 Egyptian pounds (around $1,310), Egypt's social solidarity minister said.

A private company bus carrying workers fell off the ring road and into a canal branching from the Nile river.

Health Ministry Spokesman Hossam Abdel Ghaffar told Aswat Masriya 12 people were killed in the crash and 15 were injured. 

Social Solidarity Minister Ghada Wali said in a statement that the injured will receive 2,000 Egyptian pounds ($262) each. 

Wali said this money is not "compensation, but is assistance."

A crane was sent to the site of the scene to pull the bus out of the Maryutia canal, where it fell, state-run television reported.  

Road accidents are a common occurrence in Egypt and are among the prime causes of death in the Arab world's most populous country.