Seven dead and more than 100 injured in train collision in Egypt

Seven people were killed and more than 100 injured when one train hit the rear of another in Egypt’s Giza province on Sunday, 8 November. The collision happened in al-Ayyat district, about 52 kilometres south of Cairo, and caused carriages to derail.

The first train was travelling from Giza towards Fayoum when it struck a second service heading south from Cairo towards Aswan, the BBC reported, citing Egypt’s railway authority. The second train was stationary on the tracks. Several carriages overturned, and some fell down an embankment.

The driver of one of the trains was among those killed, according to the country’s health ministry. The public prosecutor’s office warned that the death toll could rise.

Emergency services mounted a large response at the site. DW reported that 52 ambulances were deployed, while the BBC said cranes were sent to remove the wreckage. Hospitals in the area were placed on heightened alert as they dealt with injured passengers. The Egyptian Red Crescent said it was providing aid and psychological support to victims and their families at the scene.

Rail services between Giza and the Upper Egypt region were suspended while crews worked to clear the damaged trains. The railway authority had not said how long it expected the work to take, the BBC reported.

President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said he had ordered state authorities to investigate the circumstances of the collision and hold accountable anyone found to have been negligent. The cause was not immediately clear.

The crash occurred in an area with a history of deadly rail accidents. In February 2002, a fire engulfed a passenger train travelling from Cairo to Luxor. More than 370 people were officially reported killed, according to the BBC, although some estimates put the toll higher. Two further crashes in the same region in 2009 killed dozens more.

Egypt has invested billions of dollars in new highways and high-speed rail lines in recent years, DW reported. The broadcaster also noted ongoing safety concerns and repeated crashes as the country seeks to modernise its ageing rail network.

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