32 dead, 66 injured in ghastly train crash

remnants of the crashed train In Sohag Egypt

remnants of the crashed train In Sohag Egypt

remnants of the crashed train In Sohag Egypt
remnants of the crashed train In Sohag Egypt

Agency Report

Thirty-two people died and 66 were injured in a ghastly train crash in Sohag, southern Egypt on Friday.

According to the Health Ministry, two trains collided in Sohag province, about 400 kilometres south of the capital Cairo.

The Railway Authority said a train travelling from the city of Luxor in southern Egypt to Alexandria on the Mediterranean made an unscheduled stop at the Tahta area.

Coming from behind, another train hit its rear, overturning two cars.

The engine car of the second train, which was travelling from the southern city of Aswan to Cairo, was derailed.

The health ministry said 36 ambulances rushed to the scene of the collision in Sohag’s Tahta area.

Egypt’s President Fatah El Sisi shared his condolences to the families of those killed.

He said he had sent the country’s prime minister, Mustafa Madbouli, to the site with instructions to keep him updated.

He vowed that anyone found to have caused the collision whether through negligence or corruption would be brought to justice.

“The pain in our hearts today will only increase our determination to put an end to this type of disaster,” he wrote on social media.

Train accidents are common in Egypt, where the rail network is stretched thin and the signal system is antiquated.

Billions of pounds are currently being spent to upgrade the service.

Friday’s collision was the deadliest rail accident since February 2019 when an engine car fully laden with fuel slammed into a wall at Cairo’s main train station, killing 22 and injuring scores.

In 2017, two passenger trains collided in northern Egypt, killing at least 41 people and injuring more than 120.

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