Two trains collide in Egypt's Nile Delta, causing many casualties

On September 15, 2024, news from Cairo. On Saturday, two passenger trains collided in Egypt's Nile Delta. The accident killed at least three people, two of them children, and injured at least 40 others. According to a statement from the Egyptian railway administration, the accident occurred in Zagazig, the capital of the Sharqia governorate.

Train derailments and collisions are relatively common in Egypt. The country's aging railway system has long suffered from mismanagement. In recent years, the Egyptian government has announced a series of measures to improve the railway. In 2018, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi said that about 250 billion Egyptian pounds (about 8.13 billion US dollars) are needed to fully overhaul the neglected railway network in this North African country.

Video from the accident scene shows that a train carriage was severely distorted under the impact, and crowds gathered around. People are trying to lift the injured out of the passenger car windows. Last month, in the Mediterranean coastal area of Alexandria governorate, a train hit a truck crossing the tracks, killing two people.