Train Collision in Giza Province Kills Seven and Injures 100
Investigators say a moving train struck the rear of a stationary car on the same track in al-Ayyat district.
By Ibrahim Howard ·
A moving train slammed into the back of a stopped train on the same track Sunday, killing seven people and injuring more than 100 others in al-Ayyat district, Giza province. The crash happened about 52 kilometers south of Cairo. The Chief Prosecutor’s office confirmed the death toll and noted that the conductor of one of the trains was among the victims.
The Egyptian Transportation Ministry identified the two trains involved. One was traveling from Giza to the southwestern Fayoum province. The other was heading from Cairo to the southern Aswan province. Investigators found that the Giza-Fayoum train hit the last carriage of the Cairo-Aswan train while the latter vehicle remained stationary on the same track. Both trains were moving in the same direction at the time of the impact.
Local residents in Kafr Girza reacted quickly to the collision. Ayman Gamal, a resident of the village, stated that neighbors rushed to the site to pull survivors from the wreckage and call for ambulances. Gamal observed approximately 80 injured passengers being transported to nearby hospitals by ambulance. He added that some passengers were trapped inside a carriage of the stationary train and were dead by the time rescuers pulled them out.
Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi ordered a prompt investigation into the accident via a social media post. The Egyptian Railway Authority dispatched emergency teams and cranes to the scene. Their goal is to clear the wreckage and restore normal train service schedules as soon as possible.
Railway accidents are frequent in Egypt due to a long history of equipment mismanagement and poor maintenance. The government has announced modernization efforts in recent years to improve the network. In September, two freight trains collided in the same al-Ayyat district, injuring a driver and his assistant. The deadliest crash in the country’s history occurred in 2002, when a fire on an overnight train from Cairo to southern Egypt killed more than 300 people.
