At least seven people, including a train conductor, were killed and 125 injured after two passenger trains collided in Egypt’s Giza province, south of Cairo, on Sunday. The crash took place in al-Ayyat district, around 52 km from the Egyptian capital.The Health Ministry confirmed the casualties, adding that more than 70 injured passengers had been discharged after receiving medical treatment.
How did the collision happen?
According to the Transportation Ministry, a train travelling towards the southwestern province of Fayoum crashed into the rear of another train heading to Aswan in southern Egypt.The chief prosecutor’s office said investigators reached the site late night. An initial inspection indicated that the Giza-Fayyoum train struck the last carriage of the Cairo-Aswan train, which was stationary on the same track and travelling in the same direction, officials said.The authorities have not yet announced the cause of the collision.
Survivors describe rescue efforts
Residents living near the crash site rushed to help passengers, pull survivors from the wreckage and call ambulances, Ayman Gamal, a resident of Kafr Girza in al-Ayyat, told the Associated Press.Gamal said he saw around 80 injured people being transported to nearby hospitals. Some passengers were trapped inside a carriage of the stationary train and were dead when they were pulled out, he said.Survivors taken to al-Wasta Central Hospital in Beni Suef province described scenes of confusion, with passengers struggling to breathe because of dust raised by the collision. Villagers eventually helped them escape, they said.Farha Gamal, who was travelling on the Fayoum-bound train, said she saw passengers who appeared to be dead, while others struggled to find their way out.“There were other cars that were completely mangled,” she told the AP.
Investigation and emergency response
President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi said in a social media post that he had ordered a prompt investigation into the crash.The Egyptian Railway Authority said emergency teams and cranes had been sent to the site to remove the wreckage and restore train services to their normal schedule as soon as possible.
Egypt’s history of train accidents
The collision has renewed attention on safety concerns surrounding Egypt’s railway network, which has a history of mismanagement and poor equipment maintenance. The government has announced modernisation initiatives in recent years, but train crashes and derailments continue to occur.In September, a driver and his assistant were injured when two freight trains collided in the same district.Egypt’s deadliest railway disaster occurred in 2002, when a fire broke out on an overnight train travelling from Cairo to southern Egypt, killing more than 300 people.The latest investigation is expected to establish the circumstances behind Sunday’s collision and determine whether safety lapses or operational failures contributed to the deaths and injuries. Authorities have also said they are working to clear the tracks and resume normal rail operations.