Train Crash Kills One, Injures Over 20 In Egypt

One person has been confirmed dead on Sunday, after a locomotive crashed into the tail of the Cairo-bound passenger train, in southern Egypt.

The latest crash which is the second of its kind, in a month, also left over 20 persons injured,

In a statement by the country’s railway authority, the collision occurred in the province of Minya, 270km (about 168 miles) south of Cairo, when two railway carriages fell into an adjacent watercourse.

The cause of the crash was being investigated, the statement added.

At least 21 people were taken to hospitals, of which 19 were later discharged after receiving treatment, the Health Ministry said in a separate statement.

Train derailments and crashes are common in Egypt, with the railway system having been plagued by mismanagement.

In September, two passenger trains collided in a Nile Delta city, killing at least three people and leaving 49 others injured.

According to the Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics (CAPMAS), there were 2,044 rail accidents in Egypt in 2018 compared to 1,793 in 2017, reported CNN.

At least 32 people died and 165 were injured, following a massive collision between two trains in 2021. Also, in August 2017, a train crash occurred in Alexandria, killing over 40 persons and leaving scores injured

The government has recently waded into the damage in the railway system, with President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi, saying that the country needs about 250 billion Egyptian pounds, or $8.13 billion to fix and reposition the rail network.