Originally published on November 18, 2013
A cargo train crashed into a pickup truck and a minibus south of Cairo on Monday, killing more than 20 people and injuring at least 20 others.
According to reports, the train was traveling north from Aswan, passing through Bani Swaif.
A minibus and a pickup truck were traveling in opposite directions when they approached a closed level crossing near the Giza district, south of Cairo.
The minibus passengers, all relatives, were returning from a wedding in Maadi and were on their way to El Fayoum when the crash happened.
The head of Egypt's railway, Hussein Zakaria, told Nile News TV that initial reports indicated the crossing gates of the tracks had been closed.
The vehicles however reportedly ignored warning lights and chains blocking the crossroad, and crossed anyway. The train driver was caught by surprise and hit both vehicles.
The train continued for almost one kilometre before coming to a halt.
A medical emergency official, Ahmed el-Ansari, told Nile News TV that the number of dead might rise but that all victims had been cleared from the scene.
The injured, a total of 28 people, mostly reported fractures, crush injuries and lost body parts. Some of them are in critical condition. According to Tahrir News, they were transported to a local hospital.
An Interior Ministry source told Reuters they are investigating the incident.
Egypt's roads and railways have a notoriously poor safety record. A year ago, a train crashed into a bus, killing 51 children travelling to school in the governorate of Assiut, 200 miles south of Cairo.
Egypt's worst train disaster however was in 2002, when a train caught fire in Cairo, killing 373 people.
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