Egypt's transport minister attends substitution of Toukh railroad after derailment accident

CAIRO – 19 April 2021: Minister of Transportation Kamel al-Wazir and Governor of Qalyoubeya Abdel Hamid al-Hagan are attending Monday the substitution of Toukh railroad after Sunday's derailment accident.

The accident resulted in 11 deaths and 98 injuries, including children. Twenty-three were discharged from the hospital while DNA tests are being carried out to identify unknown bodies.

The Public Prosecution ordered the apprehension of the train driver, his assistant, and the train chief pending investigation. It has also been collecting the testimonies of passengers who all said that the train got shaking before the last four railcars rolled on their side while the rest got just derailed.

A video of the minister's inspection of the accident site on Sunday shows that parts of the railroad got substituted by wood pieces and that the soil beneath got dug up.

President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi ordered an investigation into the derailment of four carriages of a train on the way from Cairo to Qalyubia, the Delta, on Sunday.

The committee to investigate will include the Administrative Control Authority, the Engineering Authority of the Armed Forces, the Military Technical College and other engineering faculties.

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.