DEADLY TRAIN COLLISION IN EGYPT WAS CAUSED BY UNIDENTIFIED PERSONS

Fri 26 March 2021:

The deadly train collision in Egypt’s southern Sohag province occurred after a passenger train suddenly stopped, as unidentified individuals pulled emergency cords, the Egyptian National Railways said on Friday.

Earlier in the day, at least 32 people were killed and over 60 others injured in the accident.

“Unidentified persons opened the safety valve of several carriages of the Luxor-Alexandria train, after which the train stopped. At 11:42 [09:42 GMT], another train, which was en route from Aswan to Cairo, crashed into the back of this train,” the Egyptian National Railways said in a statement, obtained by Sputnik.

As a result, two carriages of the Luxor-Alexandria train derailed, as well as the locomotive and a carriage of the Aswan-Cairo train.

“A technical commission was formed to establish the causes of the incident,” the Egyptian National Railways went on to say.

Effort is being made to restore traffic on a section of the railway.

Later in the day, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi stated in his official Twitter that all those responsible for the train collision in Sohag will be immediately brought to justice.

“Everyone whose negligence, or corruption, or both, led to this terrible incident, will receive harsh punishment. There will be no exceptions and no delays,” he tweeted.

The president also expressed his condolences to the families of the deceased and wished quick recovery to the injured. He stressed that the government will step up its efforts to prevent such tragedies from happening again. According to Al-Sisi, families of the victims will receive compensations.

A government delegation consisting of ministers of health, transport, local development and other officials under the lead of the country’s prime minister was dispatched to Sohag on the president’s orders.