Collision between two passenger trains south of Cairo leaves seven dead and 112 injured

Two passenger trains collided on Sunday, November 8 in Al-Ayyat, in Egypt's Giza province, about 59 kilometres south of Cairo, and several carriages derailed. Egypt's Health Ministry raised the toll to seven dead and 112 injured, according to EFE and CNN; EFE warned that the figure could still rise until rescue work ended.

Train number 134, on the "Tahya Misr" service between Giza and Fayoum, struck the rear of train number 2010, which was running between Cairo and Aswan, on the section between Kafr Ammar and Al-Raqqa stations, according to a statement by Egyptian National Railways reported by EFE.

A total of 72 ambulances took part in the evacuation, and 45 injured people had already been discharged, according to the ministry as cited by EFE. The railway company sent cranes to remove the wreckage and restore traffic in both directions on the Cairo-Aswan line, which connects the capital with the south of the country.

Prosecutors have opened an investigation into the causes of the collision, according to EFE, and President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has ordered it to be speeded up and those responsible held to account. The sources consulted do not give the cause of the crash or say whether traffic on the line has been restored.