A train collision in Egypt has killed three people including two children and left 49 others injured. The incident happened in Zagazig, on Saturday, September 14, 2024.
Also Read: 37 Sentenced to Death in DR Congo Coup Attempt Trial
At least three people died with two of the victims being children. The Ministry of Health confirmed the number of injured to be 49 with the majority suffering from stable injuries, although five individuals were in critical condition.
Of the 49 injured passengers, 44 were reported to be in stable condition and are expected to be discharged from hospitals in the following hours. Five victims remain under close medical supervision due to the severity of their injuries.
The Health Ministry dispatched 39 ambulances to the scene, evacuating the injured from the crash site and transporting them to nearby hospitals.
Local authorities including Hazem al-Ashmouny, the Governor of Sharqiya Province confirmed that all passengers had been evacuated from both trains and efforts were underway to restore railway traffic in the affected area.
Videos from the site circulated on social media and local news channels showed a train car crumpled by the impact.
The National Railway Authority announced that a specialized technical committee had been formed to investigate the cause of the collision.
Although details about the precise cause of the crash were not immediately released, officials say that human error, technical malfunctions and inadequate maintenance of railway infrastructure have been recurrent issues in previous train accidents.
Meanwhile, efforts to clear the tracks and restore normal operations were ongoing, but the full reopening of the affected railway line might take time.
The exact cause of the collision in Zagazig is still under investigation. Early reports suggest that poor communication between station operators and the train crews along with outdated signaling systems may have contributed to the crash.
Also Read: Apple Introduces Third-Party App Stores on iPad in the EU from September 16
In 2018, President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi acknowledged that 250 billion Egyptian pounds would be required to overhaul the country’s outdated rail system.
The frequent train accidents in the country have negatively affected public confidence in the railway system. With over 6,000 kilometers of rail track serving millions of passengers annually, the country’s railway network is a main component of the country’s infrastructure connecting urban and rural areas.
In 2021 alone, two major rail accidents occurred within the span of a month. One crash killed 32 people and left 165 others injured, while another resulted in fatalities and injuries.
25 people lost their lives in 2019 when a train crashed into a platform at Ramses Station in Cairo, causing its fuel tank to explode.
In 2017, a train collision in Alexandria left more than 40 people dead and many others injured. In 2012, 44 children were killed when a train collided with a school bus in the Asyut governorate.
The deadliest accident in the country’s rail history took place in 2002, when a fire broke out on a passenger train traveling from Cairo to Luxor, killing more than 360 lives.
According to the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics, the country recorded 2,044 train accidents in 2018 and 1,793 the previous year.
In 2018, President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi acknowledged the scale of the problem, stating that approximately 250 billion Egyptian pounds would be required to adequately address the railway system’s issues.
Also Read: Asteroid 2024 PT5: Earth to Capture a New Mini-Moon for 2 Months
