At least seven killed as trains collide south of Cairo

At least seven people were killed and more than 100 injured on Sunday when two passenger trains collided in Egypt’s Giza province, south of Cairo, according to Egyptian authorities and reports from the BBC, DW, The Guardian and Sky News. The crash occurred in the al-Ayyat district, about 50 kilometres from the capital. The BBC and The Guardian reported that a train travelling from Giza toward Fayoum struck the rear of a Cairo-to-Aswan service that was stationary on the same track.

The collision caused several carriages to derail, with some falling down an embankment or overturning. The reported number of injured varied as emergency operations continued. DW cited more than 100 injured, Sky News reported 114, and The Guardian gave a figure of at least 125.

The initial death toll of seven was consistent across the reports, although the public prosecutor’s office warned that it could rise. One of those killed was the driver of one of the trains, according to Egypt’s health ministry. Hospitals in the area were placed on heightened alert, and Health Minister Khaled Abdel Ghaffar said patients were being treated for broken bones and head injuries.

The Egyptian Red Crescent said it was providing medical and psychological support to victims and relatives. Fifty-two ambulances were sent to the scene, while cranes and emergency crews worked to remove the wreckage and restore services. Rail traffic between Giza and Upper Egypt was suspended, although the railway authority did not initially say when normal operations would resume.

Images and accounts described overturned and mangled carriages. The BBC reported that uninjured passengers and bystanders searched the wreckage for survivors. The Guardian cited resident Ayman Gamal as saying local people pulled passengers from the trains and called ambulances.

Survivors quoted by the newspaper said they were shocked and struggled to breathe amid dust inside the damaged carriages. President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi said on social media that he had ordered an investigation and instructed state agencies to hold accountable anyone found negligent. Calls for the transport minister to resign were reported after the crash.

The immediate cause had not been established in the supplied reports. The collision took place near the site of Egypt’s deadliest railway disaster, when a train fire in 2002 killed more than 370 people according to official figures, though some estimates were higher. Further crashes in the area killed dozens in 2009, and The Guardian noted that a freight-train collision occurred in the same district last September.

The government has announced major investment in highways, high-speed rail and railway modernisation, but the repeated accidents have continued to raise concerns about safety and maintenance.