The death toll from Sunday’s collision between two trains in Egypt’s Giza governorate has risen to seven, with 125 others injured, Egypt’s Ministry of Health and Population said on Monday, in its latest update. The ministry said 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.
The Egyptian National Railways Authority said 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. The collision occurred in the Al-Ayyat district, about 52 kilometres south of Cairo, and sent several carriages off the rails and down an embankment, trapping passengers in twisted metal. The driver of one of the trains was among those confirmed dead, according to the health ministry.
The injured count has changed as hospitals treated passengers and authorities updated their figures. Reuters’ earlier report put the number injured at 112; the later Health Ministry count reported by the Associated Press was 125, with more than 70 people discharged after treatment. The differing totals reflect updates during the response, rather than two separate crashes. An initial count on Sunday evening had put the toll at four killed and 88 injured.
Prosecutors warn toll could rise
Egypt’s public prosecutor’s office has launched a full-scale inquiry into the technical failures that led to the moving train striking the stationary one, and warned that the death toll of seven may rise as emergency services continue their work and the condition of the injured is assessed. Investigators had reached the site by Sunday night.
President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said he was following the accident “with great concern”, and had directed authorities to conduct an urgent investigation to “hold accountable anyone found to have been negligent”. Health Minister Khaled Abdel Ghaffar ordered health facilities in both Giza and nearby Beni Suef governorates to be placed on alert, and 72 ambulances took part in rescue and evacuation operations, with the injured transferred to multiple hospitals.
Railway services between Giza and Egypt’s Upper Egypt region were suspended following the collision, and rescue personnel were removing debris in order to resume operations along the Cairo-Upper Egypt route. No timeline was provided for how long the restoration would take.
A familiar disaster site
The crash occurred in Al-Ayyat, the site of Egypt’s worst-ever rail disaster — a fire that engulfed a passenger train travelling from Cairo to Luxor in February 2002, killing more than 370 people, according to official figures. The latest accident has renewed concerns about railway safety in Egypt, particularly given the country’s history of deadly train disasters.
The public prosecutor’s investigation is expected to establish the sequence of events and whether railway operating or safety procedures played a role. Until officials release findings, details about the cause remain unresolved, and the railway authority has not announced a final account of the cause or responsibility.
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