At least seven people were killed and 112 injured when two passenger trains collided in El-Ayyat, Giza, on Sunday 8 November, Egypt’s Ministry of Health and Population said in a statement.
The Egyptian National Railways (ENR) said train No. 134, a Tahya Misr service travelling from Giza to Fayoum, crashed into the rear of train No. 2010, which was travelling from Cairo to Aswan, between Kafr Ammar and Al-Raqqa stations. Several carriages derailed in the collision. The cause has not been announced.
The toll rose through the day. An earlier ministry count put it at four dead and 88 injured, with the injured taken to the central hospitals in Al-Wasta, El-Ayyat and Atfih, and 72 ambulances taking part in the evacuation, Masrawy reported. Health Minister Khaled Abdel-Ghaffar ordered hospitals in Giza and Beni Suef to raise their state of readiness.
President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi said in a Facebook post that he was following the aftermath of the collision closely, and offered his condolences to the families of those killed and wished the injured a quick recovery. He said state authorities had been directed to provide the necessary medical care and to speed up the investigation, and that anyone found to have been negligent would be held accountable.
A team from the Public Prosecution inspected the site and asked for a specialised technical committee from the railway authority to examine why the carriages derailed and identify any failings, Al-Mal reported.
Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly followed up on the medical care and other assistance provided to those affected.
The ENR sent emergency teams and cranes to clear the wreckage and restore traffic on the Cairo to Aswan line. Until services resume, the Ministry of Transport is running buses between Al-Wasta and El-Ayyat stations, and between El-Moneib and El-Ayyat, in both directions.
El-Ayyat was the site of Egypt’s deadliest rail disaster in February 2002, when a fire swept through a train travelling from Cairo to Luxor and killed more than 360 people.
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