The President, Vice President and Mohamed bin Zayed condole the Egyptian President for the victims of the accident
32 dead and 165 injured in a collision of two trains in Upper Egypt
The collision of the two trains occurred in the center of Tahta, Sohag Governorate.
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His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the State, sent a message of condolence to the President of the brotherly Arab Republic of Egypt, Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, on the victims of a passenger train collision in Sohag Governorate in Upper Egypt.
His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, and His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, sent similar cables of condolence to the Egyptian President.
The UAE expressed its solidarity with Egypt over the two trains collision.
In a statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation expressed its sincere condolences and condolences to the Egyptian government, the families and families of the victims of this grave tragedy, and its wishes for a speedy recovery for all the injured.
According to the Egyptian Ministry of Health, 32 people were killed and 165 others were injured in a train collision yesterday, in Sohag Governorate in Upper Egypt.
In a statement, the Ministry of Health and Population announced that "32 citizens were killed," and 165 others were injured in the collision in the Tahta district, in Sohag governorate, which is about 450 km south of Cairo.
The Egyptian Railways Authority stated, in a statement, that the reason for the accident was that unknown persons pulled the emergency brakes for some cars of one of the two trains, which resulted in it being stopped and the other train colliding with it.
The statement stated that "the danger coil (the emergency brakes) was opened by unknown persons to some cars of a distinctive train No. 157, heading from Luxor to Alexandria between the Maragha and Tahta stations, and upon it the train was stopped."
The statement added, “Meanwhile, at 11:42 am (Cairo time), a 2011 air-conditioned Aswan-Cairo train collided with the rear of the last car with a 157 train, which led to the overturning of two vehicles from the rear of the stopped train and the 2011 train tractor overturning, and the power wagon. What led to a number of injuries and deaths ».
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi mourned, through his accounts on social networks, the victims of the accident.
He said: “I followed closely the tragic accident that we witnessed in the collision of two trains in Sohag governorate.
The pain that squeezes our hearts today will only increase our determination to end such a pattern of disasters.
He added: “I have directed the Prime Minister and the concerned agencies to be present at the site of the accident, to follow up continuously, and to update me with all developments and reports related to the situation throughout the moment.
Provided that the deterrent penalty shall be met by everyone who caused this painful accident by negligence, corruption, or something similar, without exception, delay or procrastination.
Al-Sisi also directed "the concerned agencies to take the necessary measures and provide adequate compensation to the families of the martyrs and victims."
The Egyptian Minister of Health and Population, Hala Zayed, went to Sohag, according to the statement, "to follow up the health status of the injured ... and a crisis and emergency room was formed in Sohag to follow up the repercussions of the accident."
Assistant to the Minister of Health and Population for Information and Awareness and the official spokesperson for the ministry, Khaled Mujahid, explained that immediately after the accident, 36 equipped ambulances were paid, and the injured were transported to the evacuation hospitals, namely, "Sohag General, Sohag Education, Tahta, and Maragha."
Mujahid indicated that the Minister of Health and Population had formed a crisis and emergency room in Sohag, to follow up the repercussions of the accident, and to provide any medical supplies and supplies, in addition to providing medical teams from all medical specialties to provide the necessary support to the injured.
Video clips circulating on social media showed that some cars of one of the trains derailed, and citizens and ambulances rushed to transport the victims on stretchers.
Pictures circulated by the local media also showed train cars that capsized at a water canal.
For his part, the Egyptian Attorney General, Hamada Al-Sawy, in a statement published on the Public Prosecution page on "Facebook", ordered a "urgent" investigation into the accident.
The Egyptian cabinet statement stated that the Prime Minister, Mostafa Madbouly, had headed to Sohag, as well as the ministers of higher education and scientific research, local development, transportation, and social solidarity.
Madbouly stressed, according to the statement, that "any error or default will not be tolerated, and the perpetrator will be held accountable for the accident."
A security source told «Reuters»: «The two trains collided while traveling at speeds not very high, which led to the destruction of two vehicles and a third overturned».
And Egypt has witnessed previous railway accidents, the most tragic of which occurred in 2002, when 373 people were killed, after a crowded train south of the capital caught fire.
At the end of February 2019, the Ramses train station in Cairo witnessed a terrible accident, when a speeding train hit a wall at the edge of the station platform, causing an explosion and a huge fire that killed 22 people.
This incident resulted in the resignation of the Minister of Transport, Hisham Arafat, and the Egyptian president, in March, to assign the entire minister, the head of the Army’s Engineering Authority, at the time, to take charge of the transport and communications sector.
Al-Sisi directs that everyone who caused the accident by negligence or corruption receive a deterrent penalty.
Railroad Body:
- "Unidentified persons used the emergency brakes near the city of Sohag, which caused one of the trains to stop and the other to collide with it from the back."
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