Egypt Rail Crash 40km South of Cairo Kills Army Recruits & Injures 100′s

A rail accident has killed 19 young army recruits and injured more than 100 in the Badrasheen neighbourhood of Giza in Egypt, 40 km south of Cairo early on Tuesday, 15th January.

The train, a military vehicle, was travelling from southern Egypt to Cairo when eye witnesses say two rear carriages detached from the rest of the train and derailed. The dead were among 1,328 new conscripts travelling north from Assiut to an army camp.

The accident happened after midnight and local residents used flashlights to search the area and assist emergency services. A surviving member of rail staff said he had seen the bodies of his colleagues “strewn on the track”. People are thought to have been trapped underneath the wreckage.

Following the deaths of 49 children in November 2012, when a freight train collided with their school bus, a new Transport Minister was appointed just two weeks ago to overhaul the rail system.

The safety record of the network in Egypt was very poor under the three-decade rule of Hosni Mubarak, who was ousted following the 2011 revolution.

Failures to carry out maintenance widespread corruption and underfunding have led to a number of serious accidents, most deadly of all in 2002 when more than 360 people burned to death in a train fire. Official statistics detail more than 7,000 deaths from rail and road accidents in 2010.

President Mohammed Morsi visited survivors today, and pledged to improve rail safety.