Seven dead and more than 100 injured in Egypt train collision

At least seven people have died and more than 100 have been injured after two trains collided near Giza, south of Cairo, Egypt’s railway authority says. Several carriages derailed and fell down an embankment, and the public prosecutor’s office has warned the death toll could rise.

The first train was travelling from Giza to Fayoum when it struck the rear of a stationary train bound from Cairo to Aswan. The health ministry confirmed that one of the drivers was among those killed. Health Minister Khaled Abdel Ghaffar said injured passengers were being treated for broken bones and head injuries.

President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi said he had ordered an investigation and called for anyone found negligent to be held accountable. Hospitals in the area were placed on heightened alert, while cranes were sent to clear the wreckage. Train services between Giza and Upper Egypt were suspended.

The crash happened in Al-Ayyat, near the site of a 2002 train fire in which more than 370 people were officially reported killed. Two further crashes in the area in 2009 killed dozens. Calls for Egypt’s transport minister to resign followed Sunday’s collision.