Egypt’s prosecutor orders the imprisonment of 23 defendants in Toukh train accident

CAIRO- 20 April 2021: Egypt’s Attorney general, Hamada El Sawy ordered Tuesday, the imprisonment of 23 defendants in Toukh train accident, including the driver and his assistant, and several workers and technical experts in the National Railways.

23 passengers were announced dead in the accident that took place on Sunday, along with other 139 others injured.

In a statement, Tuesday, the top prosecutor also ordered the release of the general manager responsible for maintaining the rail infrastructure, and the head of the central administration for maintaining units, on a bail of LE 50,000.

The derailment took place on Sunday when four carriages had come off the track near Toukh city, Qalioubiya governorate.

Some of those workers were charged with the wrongful death of 23 and the injury of 139 of the train's passengers due to their negligence and failure to observe laws and regulations, the statement noted.

The prosecution questioned 29 officials of the National Railway Authority (NRA) and heard testimony from 140 injured passengers.

It also formed a technical committee of specialists to examine the train and its safety and security devices, as well as to make sure the validity of the railway lines at the scene of the accident to determine the cause of the derailment and identify those who should be blamed for the incident.

This accident 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.