At least seven people have died and more than 100 others have been injured after two passenger trains collided south of the Egyptian city of Giza.
Several carriages came off the tracks and ran down an embankment in the crash, which happened between Kafr Ammar and Al-Raqqa stations in Al-Ayyat.
Egyptian National Railways said a service travelling from Giza to Fayoum struck the back of a Cairo-to-Aswan train that had stopped on the line.
Emergency teams searched the wreckage for survivors, with bystanders and rescuers working around overturned carriages. At least one carriage was split in two during the collision.
President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi said he had instructed state authorities to “investigate the circumstances of the accident, and hold accountable anyone found to have been negligent”.
The public prosecutor’s office said the number of deaths could increase as the rescue operation continued.
Health Minister Dr Khaled Abdel Ghaffar said hospitals in the area had been placed “on heightened alert”. Medical teams were treating passengers suffering from head injuries and broken bones, while the minister confirmed that one of the train drivers had been killed.
The Egyptian Red Crescent sent teams to the scene to provide emergency assistance and psychological support to those affected by the crash.
Train services between Giza and Upper Egypt were suspended while cranes were brought in to remove the damaged carriages and clear the railway. The disruption led to calls on Sunday, November 8, for Egypt’s transport minister to resign.
The collision occurred near the location of Egypt’s worst railway disaster. In February 2002, a fire on a train officially killed more than 370 people. Two further fatal train collisions took place in the area in 2009.
Messages of support were sent to Egypt from abroad as rescue work continued. Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Ministry expressed “solidarity” with Cairo, while Turkey’s ambassador offered condolences on X.
Other international partners, including Ghana, also followed the response. Ghana had recently strengthened pharmaceutical regulatory cooperation and bilateral relations with Egypt.
