Two trains collide in Giza, Egypt, leaving at least four dead and 88 injured

The collision

Two trains collided on Sunday, 8 November, in the Al-Ayyat district of Giza province, on the edge of Cairo. Egyptian railway authorities said a train running from Giza to Fayoum struck the rear of another train travelling from Cairo to Aswan. The impact derailed several carriages, and emergency teams and cranes were sent to clear the wreckage. The Egyptian Railway Authority wanted services running on their usual timetable again as quickly as it could. Two reports give conflicting distances from Cairo, about 52 kilometers and about 76 kilometers to the south. Giza, Fayoum and Aswan are all well-known tourist destinations, and the line links the capital with southern Egypt.

Casualties and hospital care

Early figures from the Ministry of Health put the number of injured at 64, and early on it was not immediately clear whether anyone had died. A later preliminary balance from the ministry raised the count to 88 injured and reported at least four dead. That first figure of 88 was described as preliminary, so the toll may still change. The injured were taken to hospitals across the Giza region, and an early breakdown of the 64 shows 54 sent to Al Wasta hospital in Beni Suef governorate and ten admitted to Al Ayyat hospital in Giza. Health minister Khaled Abdel Ghaffar ordered hospitals in both governorates to strengthen their capacity to respond and to provide the medical and emergency care the victims need. The ministry said it was monitoring the condition of the injured closely and providing all of them with full medical treatment.

Al Wasta hospital, Beni Suef54

Al Ayyat hospital, Giza10

Al Wasta hospital, Beni Suef

54 people

Al Ayyat hospital, Giza

10 people

Data from the article text

Official response

President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said in a social media post that he was following developments with particular concern. He instructed state agencies to secure the necessary medical care for the injured, offered condolences to the families of the dead and wished the wounded a speedy recovery. He also ordered an urgent investigation into the circumstances of the collision and called for accountability for anyone found to have been negligent. Cranes were used to remove the damaged carriages, and authorities said the causes of the accident were under investigation. It was not immediately clear which of the two trains had derailed, and the reports did not give an official cause.

Earlier incident in the same district

AP reported that last September a train driver and his assistant were injured when two freight trains collided in the same district. El Mundo described the same zone as the site of the worst railway disaster in Egypt's history more than two decades ago. That was a 2002 fire on a train in southern Cairo that killed more than 370 people. The same report noted several rail accidents in the same zone in 2009 that caused dozens of deaths. Authorities have not yet given a cause for Sunday's collision, and the investigation is continuing.