Police investigate fatal train crash – DW – 10/13/2024

At least one person was killed and several others injured in a train crash in southern Egypt on Sunday, authorities said.

This is the second fatal train accident in a month in this North African country.

What do we know about the accident?

The country’s railway authority said the collision occurred in Minya province, located on the Nile, about 270 kilometers south of Cairo.

The statement said a locomotive crashed into the rear of a Cairo-bound passenger train and two carriages fell into an adjacent waterway.

Images broadcast by local media showed the two cars partially submerged in the irrigation canal.

Local media reported that the Cairo-bound train then continued its journey, without the two missing carriages.

More than 20 injured treated in hospital

The Health Ministry said at least 21 people were hospitalized, 19 of whom were discharged after receiving treatment.

Quoting the Ministry of Health, Al Ahram The newspaper reported that the injuries range from bruises, abrasions and superficial wounds.

Al-Balagh The newspaper said the Red Crescent had deployed a team to provide emergency assistance to the victims, including psychological support.

The causes of the accident are currently under investigation, the railway authority added.

The locomotive driver was arrested for questioning.

Egypt’s neglected railway network

Train accidents are common in Egypt and are mainly caused by human error, but also by the poor condition of the aging railway network and a lack of safety systems.

In September, two passenger trains collided in a Nile Delta town, killing at least three people.

The government has promised to invest more in the railway network and the authorities have started a process of modernizing the railway infrastructure.

In 2018, President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi said around 250 billion Egyptian pounds, or $8.13 billion (€7.43 billion), would be needed to completely overhaul the system.

mm/d (AP, EFE)