11 dead, 98 injured after train derails in Egypt

11 dead, 98 injured after train derails in Egypt

The ministry said 14 people who sustained minor injuries were released from a hospital close to the accident site.

A train accident north of Cairo on Sunday left 11 people dead and 98 others injured, Egypt's health ministry said, in the latest rail calamity to hit the North African country.

The train was heading from Cairo to the Nile Delta city of Mansoura when four carriages derailed at 1:54 p.m. (1154 GMT), about 40 kms (25 miles) north of Cairo, Egyptian National Railways said in a short statement.

Dozens of ambulances were dispatched to the site, the health ministry added, and investigators have been sent to determine the accident's cause.

President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi tasked the military's engineering authority on Sunday with investigating the latest incident, which came on the heels of a deadly train crash last month that left at least 20 people dead.

Egypt's transportation minister Kamel El-Wazir, a former army general, has faced calls to resign from some Egyptians on social media. He has rejected these and vowed to keep working on developing the ageing rail network.

11 dead, 98 injured after train derails in Egypt
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The ministry said 14 people who sustained minor injuries were released from a hospital close to the accident site.

Egyptian rail disasters are generally attributed to poor infrastructure and maintenance.

At least 20 people died and 199 were injured last month in a train crash in the country's south, according to the latest official toll, which authorities have revised several times.

The prosecution has alleged that the driver of one train and his assistant had both left the driver's cabin when it crashed into another train.

Transport Minister Kamel el-Wazir -- a former general named to the post after a deadly 2019 train collision, blamed the March crash on human error.

"We have a problem with the human element," he told a TV talk show, where he pledged to put in place an automated network by 2024.

The African Development Bank announced earlier this month a $170 million loan to improve safety on Egypt's rail network.

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