A passenger train slammed into the back of a stationary train south of Cairo on Sunday, killing at least seven people and injuring more than 100 others, Egyptian officials said.
The crash happened in the al-Ayyat district of Giza province, located roughly 32 miles south of the capital. According to Egypt’s Transportation Ministry, a train heading to the southwestern province of Fayoum crashed into the rear carriage of an Aswan-bound train that was halted on the identical track traveling in the same direction. One of the trains derailed during the impact, officials said, though authorities did not immediately specify which one.
Casualties and Emergency Response
Egypt’s Health Ministry initially announced that four people died and 88 were hurt before raising the casualty figures later Sunday to seven dead and at least 112 injured, NBC News reported. A train driver was confirmed among the deceased, according to CBS News.
Officials sent 72 ambulances to the site in al-Ayyat to transport the wounded to three regional hospitals, NBC News reported. Most of the injuries treated by medical personnel consisted of fractures, lacerations, and contusions. The Health Ministry stated that at least 45 patients were discharged after receiving emergency care.
Local residents quickly mobilized to help before emergency services arrived. Ayman Gamal, a resident of the nearby village of Kafr Girza, told The Guardian that neighbors hurried to the crash site to help extract survivors from the mangled metal and call emergency services. Gamal recounted seeing approximately 80 injured people loaded into ambulances and said multiple passengers died after becoming trapped inside a carriage of the stationary train.
Investigation and Railway Scrutiny
Egypt’s Chief Prosecutor sent investigators to examine the site late Sunday, CBS News reported. Preliminary inspection findings indicated the Fayoum-bound train struck the final car of the stationary Cairo-Aswan train on the track.
President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi pledged that officials would determine responsibility for the deadly incident. In a statement posted to social media, el-Sissi said he was following developments “with great concern and extend my deepest condolences to the families of those who lost their lives,” CBS News reported. He added that he directed government agencies to deliver medical care, thoroughly inspect the crash, and hold accountable anyone found to have been negligent.
Heavy equipment and recovery crews with cranes were dispatched to the scene to clear twisted wreckage and reopen the line to normal service, the Egyptian Railway Authority said.
History of Rail Incidents
Egypt’s railway system has experienced repeated deadly incidents over several decades, which critics have often attributed to poor maintenance and administrative mismanagement, The Guardian reported. In September, a train driver and an assistant sustained injuries when two freight trains collided in the same al-Ayyat district.
The nation’s worst rail disaster occurred in 2002, when a fire ripped through an overnight train heading south from Cairo, killing more than 300 passengers. While Egyptian authorities have invested billions of dollars in recent years to build modern highways and high-speed rail lines, extensive sections of the conventional rail network continue to rely on aging infrastructure, CBS News reported.
Investigators remained at the scene late Sunday working to confirm why the Aswan-bound train was halted on the line and why the trailing train failed to stop in time.
