Rail Crash in Egypt Kills 7, Injures More Than 100
A rear-end collision south of Cairo triggered an immediate presidential investigation.
By Victoria Hayes ·
Seven people died and more than 100 were injured when two passenger trains collided south of Cairo on Sunday. The General Prosecution confirmed the death toll in a statement released late Sunday. The driver of the moving train was among the seven fatalities.
The crash occurred in the Al Ayyat district of Giza province. The area is located approximately 32 miles south of the Egyptian capital. According to the Ministry of Transport, a train bound for Fayoum province struck the rear of another train. The second train was traveling toward Asuán province. Investigators determined the target train was stopped on the same track and moving in the same direction when the impact occurred.
The General Prosecution stated that investigators arrived at the scene late Sunday. They found that the Giza-to-Fayoum train hit the last car of the Cairo-to-Asuán train. The Egyptian Railway Authority reported that emergency crews and cranes were dispatched to the site. Their goal is to clear the wreckage and restore normal rail service as soon as possible.
President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi announced on social media that he ordered an immediate investigation into the accident. He directed officials to determine the cause of the crash.
The region has a history of rail incidents. In September, a freight train collision in the same district injured a train engineer and his assistant. Egypt’s railway system has long faced criticism for poor maintenance and management. The government has announced modernization initiatives in recent years to address these issues.
Ayman Gamal, a resident of Kafr Girza in Al Ayyat, said neighbors rushed to the scene after the crash. They pulled survivors from the wreckage and called for ambulances. Gamal observed about 80 injured people being transported to nearby hospitals. He noted that some passengers remained trapped inside one of the cars of the stationary train. Those individuals had already died by the time rescuers reached them.
The deadliest rail accident in Egyptian history occurred in 2002. More than 300 people died after a fire broke out on a night train traveling south from Cairo.
