11 killed, 98 injured in Toukh train derailment in 3rd railway accident in month

CAIRO - 18 April 2021: A total of 11 people were killed and 98 injured in the Sunday derailment of a train in Toukh, the Delta, where most of the injuries are fractures and segmental wounds.

According to a statement by the Health Ministry, 60 ambulances were dispatched immediately to the site of the accident and those injured were transferred to the nearby Benha University Hospital, Benha Educational Hospital, and Qalyub Specialized Hospital. Three other critically injured victims were transferred to Nasser Medical Institute to undergo minute surgeries.

The majority of the cases have small to medium injuries, and very few are in a critical condition. Fourteen have already been treated and released from hospitals.

Health Minister Hala Zayed heads the emergency room at the ministry to be on top of the situation, making sure medications, medical equipment and blood are available at the hospitals and the victims are given the best medical attention.

President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has ordered an investigation into the derailment of four carriages of the train on the way from Cairo to Mansoura city in Qalyubia, the Delta. Thus far, it is unclear how the four carriages were separated from the rest of the train. 

Sisi also requested that the victims be compensated swiftly. Meanwhile, Minister of Solidarity Neveen el-Kabbag visited the site of the accident, vowing to dispense compensation and provide social and psychological care to the victims, as well as to reunite them with their families as soon as possible.

This is the third train accident in a month. On Wednesday, a train derailed in Sharqia governorate, which was also bound from Cairo to Mansoura, but no deaths occurred. On March 26, two trains collided in Sohag, Upper Egypt, resulting in dozens of casualties. Eight railway employees have been detained for trial in the Sohag case.