32 killed as two trains collide in southern Egypt

26 March 2021, 18:04

Egypt Train Wreck
Egypt Train Wreck. Picture: PA

Dozens of ambulances rushed to the scene in the province of Sohag.

Two trains have collided in southern Egypt, apparently after someone activated the emergency brakes, killing at least 32 people and leaving 165 injured, authorities said.

Dozens of ambulances rushed to the scene in the province of Sohag, according to a statement by Egypt’s heath ministry, and the wounded were transferred to four nearby hospitals. Their injuries included bone fractures, cuts and abrasions, the statement said.

Egypt’s Railway Authorities said the accident happened when someone activated the emergency brakes of a passenger train heading to the Mediterranean city of Alexandria. The train stopped abruptly and was hit from behind by another train, causing two carriages from the first train to overturn.

A plane carrying medical supplies and physicians has been dispatched from Cairo to Sohag, said the health ministry.

Local media displayed videos from the scene showing overturned carriages with passengers trapped inside and surrounded by rubble. Some victims seemed unconscious, while others could be seen bleeding. Bystanders carried bodies and laid them out on the ground near the site.

President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi said he was monitoring the situation and those responsible would be held accountable and receive “a deterrent punishment”.

“The pain that tears our hearts today cannot but make us more determined to end this type of disasters,” he wrote on his Facebook page.

Prime minister Mustafa Madbouly’s office announced he and five cabinet members would travel to the scene, more than 270 miles south of Cairo.

Egypt’s railway system has a history of badly maintained equipment and poor management. Official figures show that 1,793 train accidents took place in 2017 across the country.

Egypt Train Wreck
(Youm7/AP)

In 2018, a passenger train derailed near the southern city of Aswan, injuring at least six people and prompting authorities to fire the chief of the country’s railways.

The same year, Mr el-Sissi said the government lacked about 250 billion Egyptian pounds (£11.5 billion) to overhaul the rundown railway system, a day after a passenger train collided with a cargo train, killing at least 12 people, including a child.

A year earlier, two passenger trains collided just outside Alexandria, killing 43 people.

In 2016, at least 51 people were killed when two commuter trains collided near Cairo.

Egypt’s deadliest train crash took place in 2002, when more than 300 people were killed as a fire erupted in a train travelling from Cairo to southern Egypt.

By Press Association

Latest World News

See more Latest World News

Friends of Prince Andrew say he's "unsurprised" Giuffre made the post

Prince Andrew 'not surprised' his accuser shared shock post saying she had 'four days to live'

South Korea's impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol

South Korea president Yoon Suk Yeol removed from office as impeachment upheld over martial law declaration

Virginia Giuffre

Woman driving Prince Andrew accuser Virginia Giuffre during crash that left her with 'four days to live' breaks silence

Exclusive
'Donald Trump has made Putin comfortable,' Mikhail Khodorkovsky has warned

'Trump has made Putin comfortable' despite massive Ukraine war losses, exiled former oligarch tells LBC

The bodies of Andrew Searle and his wife Dawn were discovered by a neighbour.

British couple found dead in south of France home being ‘treated as murder-suicide’

The vehicle was later extinguished after the driver, covered in flames, emerged from the vehicle.

Amsterdam Dam Square car explosion sees driver engulfed in flames - just days after mass stabbing

d

Pictured: US tourist arrested for sailing to remote island and leaving a can of Coke for world's most isolated tribe

The Sentinelese are a pre-Neolithic tribe that rejects contact with the modern world

US tourist arrested for sailing to remote island and leaving a can of Coke for the world's most isolated tribe to try

The Trump administration has been ridiculed after imposing tariffs on uninhabited islands

'No one is safe, not even the penguins': Trump administration ridiculed after imposing tariffs on uninhabited islands

World leaders react to US tariffs

'This is not the act of a friend': World leaders react to Trump's 'unwarranted' tariffs

British couple

British couple found dead in New Zealand named - as police probe possible murder-suicide

Virginia Giuffre said she had been left with 'four days to life' after the crash

Bus driver breaks silence on Virginia Giuffre crash that left her 'with four days to live'

Foreign Secretary David Lammy

David Lammy to urge Nato allies to increase defence spending in bid to make alliance 'stronger, fairer and more lethal'

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen

EU threatens further countermeasures against US tariffs after 'major blow to world economy'

Lord Sugar labels Trump tariffs 'a disaster' as Apprentice star teases potential US Presidential meeting

Lord Sugar labels Trump tariffs 'a disaster' and warns that the president 'hasn't thought it through'

Buildings that were destroyed during the Israeli ground and air operations in Gaza

Israel expands ground attack on Gaza to seize 'large areas' - despite pleas from hostage families