CAIRO, Dec 18 (Reuters) - Four Egyptians died and seven from the same family are missing after a small bus flipped into a tributary of the Nile river south of Cairo, security sources said.

Rescue forces saved another eight of the vehicle's occupants but said there was little hope for the missing, who included four children. Two of the dead were children.

The family had rented the bus to take them from Cairo to their hometown in the southern province of Qena for the Islamic Eid el-Adha holidays that began on Tuesday, according to security sources.

It appeared the vehicle flipped into the river in Sohag city after one of its tyres burst.

Reckless driving, lax traffic rules and poor road conditions cause many road crashes in Egypt. A series of road and rail accidents in the past few years triggered an outcry over the government's handling of road and transport safety. (Writing by Aziz El-Kaissouni; Editing by Robert Woodward)

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