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70 Injured in a Train Crash South of Cairo and the Prime Minister Orders an Urgent Investigation | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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A general view shows the site where a train crashed near Beni Suef, south of the capital Cairo, on February 11, 2016. At least 70 people were injured when the passenger train derailed and two of its cars overturned (AFP)


A general view shows the site where a train crashed near Beni Suef, south of the capital Cairo, on February 11, 2016. At least 70 people were injured when the passenger train derailed and two of its cars overturned (AFP)

A general view shows the site where a train crashed near Beni Suef, south of the capital Cairo, on February 11, 2016. At least 70 people were injured when the passenger train derailed and two of its cars overturned (AFP)

Tens of Egyptians were injured in a train crash in Beni Suef, south of Cairo. An increasing number of train accidents have occurred in recent years and have claimed hundreds of victims. The Prime Minister Sharif Ismail ordered an urgent investigation into the incident.

The Ministry of Transport said that the Luxor to Cairo train overturned in the early hours of yesterday morning as it entered Nasser station in Beni Suef (south of the capital) after it crashed into a concrete barrier and this led to two of its passenger carriages overturning. 70 people were injured and the Ministry of Health confirmed in a statement that the incident did not result in the occurrence of any deaths. Eyewitnesses said that “the train driver created a disaster, did not respond to the instructions of control and almost collided with the Asyut train”.

While the police arrested the driver, Beni Suef’s general prosecutor Tamer Al-Khatib ordered the train driver and a railway dispatcher to be detained for four days on charges of accidentally causing injury to 70 people and wasting public funds.

The prime minister called on the Governor of Beni Suef Sharif Habib to open an urgent investigation to find out the reasons that led to the incident and punish those responsible so that such incidents do not occur again. The prime minister was also reassured about the situation of the injured and that the case of the overturned train would be followed up during a meeting with the governor of Beni Suef . He also stressed the need to provide for all the health care needs of the injured.

During the meeting, the governor alluded to the swift measures that have been taken to deal with the incident and the provision of emergency medical care to the injured at Beni Suef General Hospital, Central Nasser Hospital and the Ramd Beni Suef Hospital.