Seven killed and more than 125 injured in train crash near Cairo

At least seven people have been killed and more than 125 others injured in a train crash on the outskirts of Cairo in Egypt’s Giza province, according to the country’s Health Ministry.

A train travelling between Giza and Fayoum ran into the back of another train on the Cairo-to-Aswan route, causing the latter to derail from its tracks onto a countryside road in the district of al-Ayyat, authorities said.

Emergency response

Emergency rescue teams and cranes were dispatched to the scene to clear the wreckage and restore train services to their normal schedule as soon as possible, Egyptian National Railways said.

Authorities say more than 70 ambulances were involved in transport and evacuation operations at the scene of the crash, with casualties taken to nearby hospitals.

Official reaction

President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi said he was following the accident “with great concern”, and had directed authorities to conduct an urgent investigation to “hold accountable anyone found to have been negligent”.

Witness accounts

Witnesses described chaotic rescue efforts after the collision, as villagers, first responders and railway workers scrambled to reach passengers trapped inside overturned carriages.

Abdel Wahed Mohamed, 31, who was sitting at a nearby cafe when the collision occurred, said the Aswan-bound train had stopped, when the Fayoum-bound train crashed into it.

“The train overturned at around 1:30 pm [11:30 GMT]. Six carriages overturned,” he said, adding that victims suffered a range of injuries, including head wounds and broken limbs.

Another witness, Ahmed Moussa, 25, said rescuers dug beneath one overturned carriage to reach trapped passengers.

“There were people piled on top of each other inside,” he said, adding that he saw two women among the dead.

Taha Abdel Tawab, 43, said he “saw a young man leaving the train carrying his dead father”.

Context

Al-Ayyat district, where the collision happened, is also the site of Egypt’s worst-ever rail disaster. In 2002, more than 370 people were killed when a fire swept through a train carrying holiday travellers south of Cairo. In 2009, multiple train crashes in the area killed dozens.

Egypt’s 110 million people depend heavily on rail transport, but the cross-country network – one of the largest in Africa – is in need of modernisation. Over the past decade, Egypt has poured billions of dollars into updating its transport infrastructure, including new highways and high-speed rail lines, but has yet to overhaul much of its dated train services.

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Sources

• aljazeera.com: Train crash kills seven, injures dozens near Egypt’s Cairo city | Transport News | Al Jazeera
• bbc.com: Footage shows derailed carriages after fatal train crash in Egypt

This article was drafted with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. Company claims are reported as claims. Cover image is AI-generated.