Rabat – A major train crash has occurred in Egypt after two trains collided today in Sohag governorate in the south of the country. Official reports estimate that 32 people were killed and 66 injured after two trains collided.
Egypt’s Health Ministry announced the crash on Friday. The ministry stated that 36 ambulances were dispatched to the location of the train crash.
A local source told Reuters that “the trains collided while going at not very high speeds, which led to the destruction of two carriages and a third to overturn.”
Egypt’s aging train network unfortunately experiences horrific train crashes like today fairly regularly. On February 27, 2020 a train crash caused 38 injuries, less than a year after 20 were killed and 43 injured in a 2019 accident where a train smashed into the barriers at Cairo’s main train station.
Egypt’s public prosecutor is likely to launch a preliminary investigation, as has happened with previous train crashes. Whether the country will be able to prevent such accidents without significantly boosting investment in its public transport, remains to be seen.
