Crash Kills 32 After Train's Emergency Brake Triggered

At least 66 were injured in Egypt crash
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Mar 26, 2021 9:26 AM CDT
Dozens Killed in Egypt Train Crash
Three passenger cars flipped over in the accident, authorities say.   (YouTube)

Two trains collided on Friday in southern Egypt, apparently after someone activated the emergency brakes, killing at least 32 people and leaving at least 66 injured, Egyptian authorities said. Egypt’s Railway Authorities said the accident happened when someone activated the emergency brakes of a passenger train that was headed to the Mediterranean city of Alexandria. The train stopped abruptly and was struck from behind by another train. The collision caused two cars from the first train to flip over, the AP reports. Local media displayed videos from the scene showing flipped cars with passengers trapped inside and surrounded by rubble.

Some victims seemed unconscious, while others could be seen bleeding. Bystanders carried bodies and laid them out on the ground near the site. President Abdel-Fattah said he was monitoring the situation and that those responsible would be held accountable. "The pain that tears our hearts today cannot but make us more determined to end this type of disasters," he wrote on his Facebook page. Egypt’s railway system has a history of badly maintained equipment and poor management. Official figures show that 1,793 train accidents took place in 2017 across the country. Egypt's deadliest train crash took place in 2002, when over 300 people were killed when fire erupted in speeding train traveling from Cairo to southern Egypt. (In one 2017 incident, a speeding train hit a bus carrying children to kindergarten, killing around 50 of them.)

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