A train collision south of the Egyptian capital resulted in four deaths and dozens of injuries on Sunday. The incident involved two passenger services operating in the Giza area.
Egypt’s railway authority reported that a service traveling from Giza to Fayoum collided with the rear of another train heading south from Cairo toward Aswan. The impact caused several carriages to derail near the Al-Ayyat area.
The health ministry stated that four passengers were killed. An initial count showed that 88 individuals were receiving treatment for various injuries at hospitals around Giza.
State-owned media had previously published a higher figure of 120 wounded individuals, though those reports did not specify the severity of their conditions.
President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi said he was following the accident with great concern. He directed relevant authorities to carry out an urgent investigation and hold accountable anyone found to have been negligent.
Emergency crews deployed cranes to clear the wreckage from the tracks, according to the railway authority. Officials also launched a formal investigation into the cause of the disaster.
The crash site in Giza’s Al-Ayyat area has a history of major transit accidents. In 2002, a fire on a passenger train south of Cairo killed more than 370 people, while other crashes in the vicinity resulted in dozens of deaths in 2009.
Egypt relies heavily on its rail network to serve a population of 110 million people. The system is one of the largest in Africa but has experienced a series of fatal accidents over the years.
During the past decade, the government has invested billions of dollars into updating national transport infrastructure. These funds have primarily targeted new highways and high-speed rail lines, leaving large portions of the older rail network awaiting modernisation.
