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Four Killed in Devastating Train Accident in Egypt

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A train accident in Egypt killed four people and injured more than 20, officials said Wednesday, the latest in a series of fatal accidents blamed on aging infrastructure and mismanagement.

The National Railways Authority said that the train bypassed the station and collided with the stations at the end of the track after it passed a stop sign in the city of Qalyub in the Nile Delta, north of Cairo.

“This led to the derailment of the locomotive and the first carriage,” it added in a statement.

Pictures from the scene showed emergency crews overnight using a crane to lift the derailed bus, which appeared to be partially collapsed.

The Egyptian Ministry of Health later clarified the final toll of four dead and 23 injured, which doubles the number of deaths announced during the night.

The Ministry of Solidarity said that the families of those killed in the recent train tragedy will receive compensation of 100,000 Egyptian pounds (about $3,000).

A statement said a similar amount would be allocated to the seriously injured.

President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi has vowed to hold accountable those responsible for frequent fatal railway accidents in Egypt, the Arab world’s most populous country.

In April 2021, the Minister of Transport sacked the head of the Railways Authority, Kamel Al-Wazir, after an uproar over the mismanagement of crumbling train lines.

The dismissal came after two train accidents in less than a month that killed more than 40 people.

Egypt’s worst railway tragedy occurred in 2002 when a train caught fire killing more than 370 people outside Cairo.

Egypt’s population of 105 million depends largely on rail transport, but the network, while one of the largest on the African continent, is riddled with problems.

After the tragedies of 2021, the Minister of Transport acknowledged that the “human element” is often responsible for fatal accidents.

A minister at the time pledged to establish an automated network by 2024 – part of the landmark projects promised by the Sisi administration.

The projects also include the construction of a new high-speed network to replace the existing lines for which contracts have been awarded.

Roads in Egypt also witness frequent fatal accidents that are often blamed on poor maintenance and broken rules by drivers.

In 2021, about 7,000 people were killed on Egyptian roads, according to official figures.

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