Train accident in Egypt: the driver was not in his cabin, according to the prosecution
On March 26, a collision between two passenger trains left 20 dead and 199 injured.
REUTERS - STRINGER
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The driver of the train involved in a rail disaster in Egypt at the end of March, as well as his assistant, were not in the cockpit at the time of the accident.
This is the conclusion of the investigation of the general prosecutor's office which points to other irregularities.
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With our correspondent in Cairo,
Alexandre Buccianti
Negligence, absenteeism, drugs and maintenance failures are cited by the press release to explain
the rail disaster that
occurred on March 26 near Sohag, in Upper Egypt.
The conductor and his assistant argue over who was driving the train that telescoped the stationary one.
The prosecution concluded that neither of them was in the cockpit.
For the first train, which had stopped unexpectedly in the open countryside, the prosecution indicates that the driver and his assistant justified their action by a fault in the compressed air pressure circuit and the actuation of the alarm signal.
The prosecution notes that no alarm signal was fired and that the driver's assistant had consumed hashish.
In addition, the director of the Upper Egypt rail control center, responsible for managing traffic, was not at his post.
A total of 18 people are already in police custody.
Egyptian railways have declined over the past thirty years.
The collision between the two passenger trains left at least 20 dead and 199 injured, according to a latest report released on Sunday.
Images taken by a surveillance camera showed an extremely violent collision in which a wagon was thrown into the air, in a huge cloud of dust.
Several passenger cars overturned on their side.
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Egypt
Transport