At least 32 people were killed in Egypt after two passenger trains collided Friday, causing cars to flip and trapping people inside, Egyptian authorities said.
A passenger train rear-ended another in Egypt, after emergency brakes were activated on board. Over 30 people were killed. pic.twitter.com/BVXp2uTGEE
— DW News (@dwnews) March 26, 2021
At least 91 others were injured in the collision, which happened in the southern province of Sohag, located around 285 miles south of Cairo. Dozens of ambulances arrived at the scene to transport the injured to hospitals, the Associated Press (AP) reported.
#BREAKING: 50 people injured in collision of two trains in Upper Egypt: official from the Health Ministry to local media#EgyptToday #BreakingNews | #طهطا #سوهاج #عاجل #قطارين pic.twitter.com/pf6TJAuxj5
— Egypt Today Magazine (@EgyptTodayMag) March 26, 2021
Egypt’s railway authority said the accident happened after an unknown person activated the emergency brakes of a passenger train traveling to Alexandria, according to the AP. The train was then struck by the train behind it, causing two train cars to derail and flip over. (RELATED: 18-Wheeler Collides With Train In Fiery Explosion)
Pictures of the accident showed the derailed cars above a channel of water, according to Reuters. The public prosecutor’s office reportedly said it had ordered an investigation into the crash.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said he was closely following news surrounding the crash, and that those responsible for the accident should be punished.
تابعت عن كثب الحادث الأليم الذي شاهدناه اليوم بتصادم قطارين في محافظة سوهاج.
إن الألم الذي يعتصر قلوبنا اليوم، لن يزيدنا إلا إصرارا على إنهاء مثل هذا النمط من الكوارث
١/٣— Abdelfattah Elsisi (@AlsisiOfficial) March 26, 2021
ولقد وجهت رئاسة الوزراء وكافة الأجهزة المعنية بالتواجد بموقع الحادث والمتابعة المستمرة وموافاتي بكافة التطورات والتقارير المتعلقة بالموقف على مدار اللحظة. على أن ينال الجزاء الرادع كل من تسبب في هذا الحادث الأليم بإهمال أو بفساد أو بسواه، دون استثناء ولا تلكؤ ولا مماطلة.
٢/٣— Abdelfattah Elsisi (@AlsisiOfficial) March 26, 2021
Egypt has had numerous fatal train accidents in the previous two decades. In 2017, official figures recorded 1,793 train accidents, according to Deutsche Welle. One of the accidents was a train collision that resulted in 43 deaths, and in 2016, 51 people were killed in a train collision.
Egypt’s deadliest train accident happened in 2003, when 300 people were killed after a speeding train caught fire.
Al-Sisi said the government is short by 250 billion pounds, or $14.1 billion, which prevents officials from moving to overhaul the country’s deteriorating rail system, the AP reported.