Public prosecutor orders apprehension of Sohag trains drivers pending investigation

CAIRO – 29 March 2021: Public Prosecutor Hamada al-Sawy ordered Monday the apprehension of the drivers of both Sohag trains and six others pending investigation.

The other suspects include observer at Maragha Railway Observation Tower, head of Central Observation Department at Asyut, and two observers at the department.

The prosecution got the testimonies of 133 passengers, including injured ones at hospitals, 10 officials at the Egyptian Railway Authority in Upper Egypt, three policemen who were on board of the two trains, two Senousi railroad operators, railroad security man, chief of the train that hit the one that stopped from behind, two train workers who check tickets, and two residents of the village where the accident occurred.

The public prosecutor had also carried out two simulations mimicking the motion of both trains from Maragha Train Station to Senounsi area. In one of them, the ATC system was turned on to determine its effectiveness in shutting off the engine, and communicating with the signaling tower.

The prosecution listened to the recordings of the wireless communications between driver of the train that stopped abruptly and observation entities in Tahta and Maragha. Further, other data on both trains' movements were collected, and blood tests were carried out for both drivers to determine drug abuse.

The number of deaths and injuries is 32 and 108, respectively. Authorities initially think that the accident was caused after unknown passengers pulled the emergency valve of a Luxor-Alexandria train leading it to stop and get smashed by an Aswan-Cairo train from behind. The collision led to overturning of 2 passenger carriages and a locomotive, according to a statement from the Egyptian Railway.