Deadly train crash at Cairo railway station triggers explosion, kills 25
CAIRO: A locomotive crashed into a barrier at the Egyptian capital’s main train station on Wednesday, causing its fuel tank to explode and triggering a huge fire, killing at least 25 people, officials said.
Railway officials said the single railcar was traveling too fast when it collided head-on with the barrier. At least 47 people were also injured, many of them critically, and officials said the death toll could rise. The explosion and fire blasted through people on the platform in the busy Ramses Station in downtown Cairo. A surveillance video showed the moment of impact when the car barreled past men and women walking by who are then engulfed in flames and smoke. Charred bodies lay on the platform, and a man in flames ran down a staircase in panic, according to other photos and videos posted on social media.
There was no immediate word on whether the crash was the result of a terrorist act. However, one railway official said it was too early to rule it out. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief the media.
Ashraf Momtaz, a general railway inspector, told The Associated Press that there were several scenarios for what happened and one was that someone could have set the rail car on high speed, then jumped.
It was not immediately clear if the locomotive had a driver at the time of the crash, Momtaz said.
“The railcar takes time to (gather) speed so there is a chance that someone set it on full speed before leaving,” he said, adding that investigators are considering all scenarios.
“There are records that show which driver is in which railcar,” he said.
In general, he said, the accident signals “negligence from the driver and supervisors.”
Ambulances rushed to the scene and firefighters struggled to get the flames under control.
Egypt General Prosecutor Nabil Sadek ordered an extensive investigation and sent a team of investigators to the station.
The Ramses district is among the busiest and most crowded areas of the Egyptian capital.
The state railway agency briefly halted all train traffic and ordered the evacuation of the station.
Video from surveillance cameras showed flames ravaging the station’s interior.
One video that surfaced on social media showed men and women carrying bags and personal belongings and walking on the rail platforms as the train car crashes and explodes.
Later in the day, Transportation Minister Hisham Arafat resigned his post, according to a statement released by the Cabinet office.