Middle-east Arab News Opinion | Asharq Al-awsat

Egyptian trains collide, 20 injured | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
Select Page

CAIRO, (Reuters) – A train ran into the back of another one in the Nile Delta on Tuesday because of a signal failure and mist, injuring 20 people, officials said.

The accident took place near the town of Abu Hummus, which lies on the main line between Cairo and Alexandria and about 150 km (95 miles) northwest of the capital, the state MENA news agency reported.

Transport Minister Mohamed Lutfi Mansour said in an interview with Egyptian television: “It was six o’clock in the morning and there was a mist, which may have made it hard for the driver to see well.”

“We also have to see what was the cause of the fault in the signal and try to deal with that situation so that it doesn’t happen again,” he added.

Out of the 2O people injured, 14 have been discharged from hospital after treatment, the minister said.

The governor of Beheira province, Adel Labib, said a train bound for Cairo ran into the back of a train going to Port Said, The trains had left the previous station five minutes apart. The injuries were in the two rear carriages of the Port Said train.

Since taking office in January, Mansour has already had to deal with the sinking of a Red Sea ferry in early February. More than 1,000 people lost their lives in that disaster.