Two passenger trains collided in the Nile Delta in Egypt on Saturday, killing at least three people, two of them children.
The accident occurred in the city of Zagazig, the capital of Sharqiyah province, injuring at least 40 people, according to Egypt’s Ministry of Health.
Transport Minister Kamel el-Wazir said in the television interview the cause of the collision was “the human element, but what exactly we leave to the security services to determine,” adding there had been no technical issues.
The incident is the latest in a series of fatalities on Egypt’s vast railway network, which suffers from ageing infrastructure and poor management. However, in recent years, the government has announced initiatives to improve its railways. Proper reconstruction of the North African country’s neglected railway network will require about 250 billion Egyptian pounds ($8.13 billion), according to President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.
The reconstruction of railway lines holds an important factor for the country. 105 million people in Egypt rely heavily on rail transport. However, technical faults have repeatedly led to fatalities.
Last month, the train crashed into a lorry crossing railway tracks in the Mediterranean province of Alexandria, killing two people. In 2021, two accidents one month apart killed more than 40 people.
