Cairo: The death toll from Sunday’s collision between two trains in Egypt’s Giza governorate has risen to seven, with 112 others injured, Egypt’s Ministry of Health and Population said.
The ministry said in a statement that 45 patients had been discharged after their conditions improved and they received the necessary treatment, while seven others were expected to be discharged soon. The remaining injured were continuing to receive treatment under medical observation, Xinhua news agency reported.
Earlier in the day, the ministry said in another statement that 72 ambulances took part in rescue and evacuation operations, with the injured transferred to multiple hospitals in Giza and nearby Beni Suef governorate.
Health Minister Khaled Abdel Ghaffar ordered health facilities in both governorates to raise readiness and provide all necessary medical and emergency support to the injured, according to the statement.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi said on the social media platform Facebook that he was closely following developments, extended his condolences to the families of those killed and wished the injured a speedy recovery.
Sisi said he had directed state agencies to provide medical care, swiftly investigate the accident, and hold anyone found responsible for negligence accountable.
The Egyptian National Railways Authority said in an earlier statement that the accident occurred between Kafr Ammar and Al-Raqqa stations when a train on the Giza-Fayoum route hit the rear of another on the Cairo-Aswan route.
Emergency teams and cranes were dispatched to clear the site and move the remaining carriages to restore services in both directions as quickly as possible, the authority said.
Egypt’s railway network has long faced problems of outdated equipment and poor management, leading to frequent accidents. The country’s deadliest rail disaster occurred in 2002, when a fire on a Cairo-Luxor train in Giza’s Ayyat district killed over 380 people.
(IANS)
