Collision of two trains in Egypt kills at least seven
President orders prompt investigation after one train derails in collision in al-Ayyat about 50km from Cairo Seven people were killed and at least 125 injured when two trains collided on Sunday south of the Egyptian capital, Cairo, officials said. The crash occurred in al-Ayyat…
Noticia publicada originalmente por The Guardian — World en theguardian.com (se abre en una pestaña nueva). Minuto 24 no es autor de este contenido.
Claves de la noticia
- Dos trenes chocaron el domingo en el distrito de al-Ayyat, en la provincia de Giza, al sur de El Cairo, dejando al menos siete muertos.
- Según el ministerio de salud, al menos 125 personas resultaron heridas, y más de 70 de ellas ya fueron dadas de alta tras recibir tratamiento.
- Según el ministerio de transporte, un tren que se dirigía a la provincia de Fayum chocó contra la parte trasera de un tren que iba hacia Asuán, que estaba detenido en la misma vía.
- El presidente Abdel Fatah al-Sisi ordenó una investigación rápida, y las autoridades ferroviarias enviaron equipos y grúas para retirar los restos y restablecer el servicio.
Contexto
Los accidentes ferroviarios son frecuentes en Egipto, un país cuya red de trenes arrastra desde hace años problemas de mala gestión y mantenimiento deficiente de su equipamiento. El Gobierno ha anunciado en los últimos años planes de modernización para mejorar la red. Este choque se suma a otros incidentes recientes, como una colisión entre dos trenes de mercancías en el mismo distrito el septiembre anterior, en la que resultaron heridos el maquinista y su ayudante. El accidente más mortal de la historia del país ocurrió en 2002, cuando un incendio en un tren nocturno que cubría la ruta entre El Cairo y el sur de Egipto causó más de 300 muertos. La noticia cobra relevancia por la reiteración de estos sucesos y por las dudas sobre la seguridad del sistema ferroviario.
Resumen elaborado por Minuto 24 con ayuda de inteligencia artificial a partir de la noticia publicada por The Guardian — World. Puede contener imprecisiones: ante cualquier duda, consulta la fuente original.
Seven people were killed and at least 125 injured when two trains collided on Sunday south of the Egyptian capital, Cairo, officials said.
The crash occurred in al-Ayyat district in Giza province, about 50km (30 miles) south of Cairo, when a train travelling to Fayoum province crashed into the rear of a train heading to the southern province of Aswan, according to the transport ministry.
An inspection indicated that the Cairo-Aswan train had been stationary on the same track, officials said.
The health ministry gave the casualty toll, adding more than 70 of the injured were discharged after receiving treatment.
Train derailments and crashes are common in Egypt, where the railway system has a history of mismanagement and poor maintenance of equipment. In recent years the government has announced modernisation initiatives to improve its railways.
Ayman Gamal, a resident of Kafr Girza in al-Ayyat where the crash occurred, said people rushed to the scene, pulled out survivors and called ambulances.
Gamal said he saw about 80 of the injured being taken by ambulances to hospital. Some passengers were trapped inside one of the carriages of the stationary train and died, he said.
Egypt’s president, Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, said in a social media post that he had ordered a prompt investigation.
Outside al-Wasta central hospital in Beni Suef province, where some of the injured were taken for treatment, survivors said passengers were in shock and struggling to breathe because of all the dust that was kicked up. Nearby villagers eventually got them out, they said.
Farha Gamal, a survivor who was inside the Fayyoum train, said she saw some of the passengers who appeared dead and others were struggling to find their way out of the car. “There were other cars that were completely mangled,” she said in an interview.
Emergency teams and cranes were dispatched to the crash site to clear the wreckage and restore train services to their normal schedule as soon as possible, the Egyptian railway authority said.
Last September, a train driver and his assistant were injured after two freight trains collided in the same district.
Egypt’s deadliest train crash was in 2002 when more than 300 people were killed after a fire broke out on an overnight train journeying from Cairo to southern Egypt.
