Heavy death toll from train collision in Egypt
By DINA PYANYKH
Copyright 2006 ITAR-TASS News Agency
All Rights Reserved
The death toll in a railway accident in Egypt has risen to 70, Egyptian television reported Monday. More than 150 people injured in the accident have been taken to local hospitals and Cairo.
Two trains collided twenty kilometers north of Cairo at around 8. 00 a.m. local time Monday. The trains, that originated from the towns of Qalyoub and Mansoura and were both bound for Cairo, collided when of the trains ran into the other one that was ahead. As a result of a strong push several train cars overturned. A fire broke out after the collision.
Rescuers have been removing heaps of train wreckage from the site. Railway traffic on the railroad to Cairo has been restored.
Most of the railroads in Egypt have one- way track only, and therefore, railway traffic is organized in strict compliance with the train schedule. It was not immediately known why the two trains happened to be in one and the same place simultaneously. Engine drivers' error is one of frequent causes of most railway accidents in Egypt.
|
Most Commented Articles