Three dead, dozens injured in Egypt train collision

Nearly 50 injured in Zagazig as Egypt’s ageing rail network and transport infrastructure faces renewed scrutiny

CAIRO:

At least three people have been killed and 49 others injured following a collision between two passenger trains in Zagazig, a city northeast of Cairo, Egypt’s health ministry reported on Saturday.

The ministry noted that five of the injured were in unstable condition, and all the wounded have been taken to local hospitals. Rescue operations are still underway.

According to the railway authority, one of the trains was travelling from Zagazig to Ismailia, while the other was en route from Mansoura to Zagazig. Egypt has been working for years to modernise its ageing transport infrastructure, including upgrading trains and railway lines.

The health ministry dispatched 30 ambulances and additional medical teams to the scene in Zagazig, the capital of Al Sharkia governorate. The injured were transferred to Al-Ahrar and Zagazig University hospitals for treatment.

The accident adds to the long history of deadly train crashes in Egypt, which have occurred almost annually for the past two decades. Official data recorded 2,044 train accidents in 2018 and 1,793 in 2017.

Notable past incidents include a 2021 collision that killed at least 32 people and injured 165, and a 2019 fire at Ramses station in Cairo, which claimed 25 lives.

Other major accidents include the 2017 Alexandria crash that killed over 40 and the 2002 fire on a train travelling from Cairo to Luxor, which resulted in more than 360 deaths, making it the deadliest rail disaster in Egypt's history.