A train crash has killed at least four people and left 88 injured after two trains collided – rescue teams fear the death toll could rise as they search the wreckage for survivors
A horror train crash has killed at least four people and left 88 injured as authorities fear the death tool could climb as rescuers search for survivors. The train was travelling from Giza to Fayoum, Egypt, when it smashed into another train travelling from Aswan from Cairo.
Al-Ayyat, an area south of Cairo where the crash took place, has been dubbed the “Bermuda Triangle of train crashes”. Back in 2002 the location saw Egypt ‘s worst ever train disaster which claimed the lives of 383 people after an explosion burnt several carriages to the ground.
During today’s crash several carriages fell from the train tracks and down a verge as the Giza train slammed the back of the train from Cairo. The horrific train crash occurred around 32 miles south of the nation’s capital.
According to Egypt’s health ministry a total of 52 ambulances were deployed to the scene. The ministry added 54 people have been taken to Al Wasta Hospital in Beni Suef and 10 to Al Ayyat Hospital in Giza.
President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi has ordered an investigation into the train crash. Emergency response teams are helping to clear the wreckage from the train crash as cranes have been deployed in the rescue effort.
Witnesses have said locals also rushed to the scene of the crash helping passengers escape overturned carriages. Last September, a train driver and his assistant were injured after two freight trains collided in the same district.
The development comes after 68 people have died after two high-speed passenger trains collided in the Spanish province of Toledo.
The crash happened at Urda station, where two carriages fell down an embankment after the collision.
The crash involved a Renfe AVE that left Madrid at 8am bound for Seville and a train run by private operator Iryo, between the villages of Los Yebenes and Urda.
The Iryo train was carrying 147 people, while the AVE train was carrying 297 passengers. Spain’s Transport Minister Óscar Puente has resigned following the crash.
The horrific crash on October 28 is the second major smash on the Madrid-Seville line this year. Back in January, more than two hours further south along the same route, a train derailed and collided with another travelling in the opposite direction, claiming 46 lives.
Spain’s high-speed rail network has long been regarded as one of the nation’s proudest achievements, ranking as the world’s second-largest after China’s. Until this year, it had not suffered a fatal crash since entering service more than three decades ago.