Train accident North of Cairo kills at least 11, injures 98

Egyptian authorities say a passenger train accident going north of Cairo has killed at least 11 people. Railway authorities say that at least four train wagons ran off the tracks at the city of Banha in Qalyubia province.

The Health Ministry said in a statement that at least 98 others were injured. Around 60 ambulances were sent to the scene and the injured taken to nearby hospitals, the ministry added.

The train was travelling to the Nile Delta city of Mansoura from the Egyptian capital.

Salvage teams could be seen searching for survivors and removing the derailed cars. It was not immediately clear what caused the train to derail. Prosecutors said they were investigating the causes of the crash.

Last week, at least 15 people were injured when train carriages derailed in the Nile Delta province of Sharqia. Sunday’s train accident came three weeks after two passenger trains collided in the province of Sohag, killing at least 18 people and injuring 200 others, including children.

Prosecutors said they found gross negligence by railway employees was behind the deadly March 25 crash, which caused public outcry across the country.

Train wrecks and mishaps are common in Egypt, where the railway system has a history of badly maintained equipment and mismanagement. The government says it has launched a broad renovation and modernization initiative. President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi said in March 2018 that the government needs about 250 billion Egyptian pounds, or $14.1 billion, to overhaul the run-down rail system.

Hundreds of train accidents are reported every year. In February 2019 an unmanned locomotive slammed into a barrier inside Cairo’s main Ramses railway station, causing a huge explosion and fire that killed at least 25 people. That crash prompted the then-transportation minister to resign.

Suzan O