Egypt: 32 dead, 160 hurt in train collision

By Diana Chalhoub and Said Ibicioglu

CAIRO (AA): At least 32 people were killed and 160 injured in Egypt on Friday in a collision between two passenger trains, the Health Ministry said in a statement.

The crash took place near the Al-Ibrahimiyya area in Egypt’s Sohag Governorate, according to government-affiliated daily Akhbar al-Youm.

The incident happened about 365km (227 miles) south of the capital Cairo.

A statement said one train hit the last carriage of the other, causing at least two carriages to overturn between the stations of Maragha and Tahta.

The dead and wounded were taken to state hospitals in Sohag immediately after the crash. 70 percent of those injured had fractures.

After announcing an investigation committee was being formed, the country’s railways authority said the crash took place when one of the trains stopped short after emergency brakes were pulled by persons unknown.

On social media, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi promised to punish anyone who caused the accident through negligence, corruption, or abuse, without exception or delay.

“The pain that tears our hearts today cannot but make us more determined to end this type of disasters,” he wrote on his Facebook page.

Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly and the ministers of transport, education, local development and social solidarity also traveled to Sohag after the deadly crash, according to a Cabinet statement.

*Writing by Ali Abo Rezeg and Zehra Nur Duz

[Map of Egypt by University of Texas. /Wikimedia Commons/CC]

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