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Egypt: 16 killed as train carriages derail

March 1, 2018 at 1:04 pm

People surround the scene after a collision between two trains took place in Egypt [Twitter]

At least 16 people have been killed and 15 injured in a collision between two trains in Egypt’s northern province of Beheira, the Ministry of Health’s spokesperson said yesterday.

Khaled Megegad added that 30 ambulances were present at the site of the collision, the number of those injured was expected to rise.

Footage aired by state television showed at least two carriages had derailed in a rural stretch of land. Civilians and medics were seen removing injured passengers and carrying them to ambulances.

Fatal train crashes and accidents have been frequent in the past two decades in Egypt. Observers attribute such crashes to old equipment, poor maintenance and state incompetence.

Last August, the Prosecutor-General referred six persons to trial for “extreme negligence” after 44 people were killed and at least 200 were injured in a crash in the province of Alexandria.