Train Collision in Egypt Kills Four and Injures Scores

Four people died and eighty-eight others suffered injuries after two passenger trains collided seventy-six kilometres south of Cairo on Sunday. The state railway authority stated that a train travelling from Giza to Fayoum hit the back of another service heading from Cairo to Aswan, causing several carriages to derail.

Official Response

President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said he was following the accident with great concern and ordered an urgent investigation to hold anyone found negligent accountable. Emergency crews used cranes to clear the wreckage at the crash site in Giza's Al-Ayyat area in an effort to restore services on the Cairo-Upper Egypt line.

Context

Egypt has a population of one hundred and ten million people who depend heavily on rail transport, but its large network has suffered repeated deadly accidents over the years. The country has spent billions of dollars on new highways and high-speed rail lines over the past decade, though much of its older rail infrastructure still needs to be overhauled.