Egypt: Police investigate deadly train crash
October 13, 2024
At least one person was killed Sunday and multiple others were injured in a train crash in southern Egypt, authorities said.
It was the North African nation's second deadly rail crash in a month.
What do we know about the crash?
The country's railway authority said the collision occurred in the province of Minya, which sits beside the Nile River, some 270 kilometers (about 168 miles) south of Cairo.
The statement said a locomotive crashed into the back of a Cairo-bound passenger train and two railway carriages fell into an adjacent waterway.
Footage aired by local media showed the two carriages partially submerged in the irrigation canal.
Local media reported that the Cairo-bound train later continued its journey, without the missing two carriages.
More than 20 injured treated in hospital
The Health Ministry said at least 21 people were taken to hospitals, of which 19 were discharged after treatment.
Citing the Health Ministry, Al-Ahram newspaper reported that the injuries range from bruises, abrasions, and superficial wounds.
Al Balagh newspaper said the Red Crescent had deployed a team to provide urgent assistance to the victims, including psychological support.
The cause of the crash is now under investigation, the railway authority added.
The driver of the locomotive has been detained for questioning.
Egypt's neglected railway network
Railway accidents are frequent in Egypt and are mostly due to human error, but also due to the poor condition of the aging railway network and the lack of safety systems.
In September, two passenger trains collided in a Nile Delta city, killing at least three people.
The government has promised to invest more in the railway network and authorities have begun a process to modernize the rail infrastructure.
In 2018, President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi said some 250 billion Egyptian pounds, or $8.13 billion (€7.43 billion), would be required to fully overhaul the system.
mm/dj (AP, EFE)