Main defendant in deadly railway accident jailed to 15 years

CAIRO – 9 March 2020: A Cairo criminal court on Monday sentenced the main defendant in the Ramses Railway Station train accident to 15 years in prison and fined him LE 8.89 million.

The tragic accident took place in Cairo on February last year and reportedly killed 31 people and injured 17 others. It represents one of the deadliest disasters in Egypt’s modern history.

The court sentenced another defendant in the case for 10 years in prison and handed two others 7 year imprisonment.

The defendants in the case face charges of negligence and gross breach.

What happened that day?

On February 27th, Cairo's busiest and main railway station, located in Ramses district, saw the deadly accident when a train, with no driver on board, was seen moving at an extremely high speed and crashing into the platform's buffer stop.

The collision caused an explosion of the fuel tank and triggered a huge blaze, leaving dozens killed.

Immediately, 30 ambulances arrived at the scene to transfer the injured to the nearest hospitals while fire fighters managed to control the blaze.

Then Transportation Minister Hesham Arafat submitted his resignation to the prime minister on the background of the blaze.

Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouli and ministers of transportation and social solidarity headed to the scene. Minister of Health Hala Zayed has followed up on the condition of the injured, and announced moving them to local hospitals including al-Helal Hospital.

Egypt's Transportation Minister Hesham Arafat submitted his resignation to the prime minister on the background of the blaze. Cabinet Spokesman Nader Saad said that the prime minister approved the minister's resignation.

Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouli and ministers of transportation and social solidarity headed to the scene. Minister of Health Hala Zayed has followed up on the condition of the injured, and announced moving them to local hospitals including al-Helal Hospital.

Speaking in a sharp tone, Madbouli affirmed that those who caused the collision of a train locomotive in Cairo's Ramses Railway station will be severely punished.

He said that those who fail to perform their duties and thus harm the lives of the Egyptian people will be punished. He added that a technical high-level committee was formed to investigate the incident.



Egypt's President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi then commented on the incident, and issued a strict statement vowing to punish those responsible for the incident.

“I issued immediate directives for the government to identify and punish whoever responsible for this catastrophe after thorough investigation and providing the necessary health care for the injured,” Sisi stated ahead of attending a press conference with his Albanian counterpart in the Presidential Palace.

The Egyptian Cabinet announced LE 80,000 ($4,570) as a compensation for each family of the victims who were killed in the blaze, and LE 25,000 ($1,428) for each of the injured. Also, Alaa al-Zohairi, head of the Insurance Federation of Egypt, said that LE 30,000 ($1,713) will be immediately given to each of the victims' families.

Zayed said that some of the injured individuals are in a critical condition, while others suffer light-to-medium injuries, adding that some of them suffer bruises and broken bones. The Health Ministry further stressed that all the injured are receiving the necessary treatment.