Seven dead and over 100 injured as trains collide near Giza, Egypt

At least seven people have been killed and more than 100 injured after two trains collided near the Egyptian city of Giza. The national railway authority said both services were heading south, from Giza and from Cairo. The impact sent several carriages off the rails and down an embankment. The public prosecutor's office warned that the death toll could still rise.

How the collision happened

The first train was travelling from Giza to Fayoum, south of Cairo. It struck the rear of another service bound for Aswan from Cairo, which was standing on the tracks. The crash took place between Kafr Ammar and Al-Raqqa stations in Al-Ayyat. Images from the scene showed some carriages overturned, with at least one apparently split in two.

Health minister Dr Khaled Abdel Ghaffar said patients were being treated for broken bones and head injuries. The ministry confirmed that the driver of one of the trains was among the dead. Hospitals in the area were put on heightened alert because of the large number of patients arriving. A major emergency response was launched, and uninjured passengers and passersby searched overturned carriages for people who were hurt.

Response and aftermath

President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi said he had instructed state authorities to investigate the circumstances and hold accountable anyone found to have been negligent. Train services between Giza and Upper Egypt were suspended, and cranes were sent to clear the wrecked carriages.

The collision occurred close to the site of Egypt's deadliest rail disaster, in February 2002, when a fire engulfed a passenger train travelling from Cairo to Luxor. More than 370 people were officially reported killed, though some estimates put the toll considerably higher. Two further crashes in the area in 2009 killed dozens more. On Sunday, there were calls in Egypt for the transport minister to resign over the latest disaster.