Passenger train derails in Egypt, killing at least 3 and injuring 94

CAIRO (AP): A passenger train derailed Saturday in western Egypt, killing at least three people and injuring 94 others, authorities said. It was the latest in a series of rail accidents in the country in recent years.

The train derailed as it traveled to Cairo from the western Mediterranean province of Matrouh, on the country’s north coast, railway authorities said in a statement. Seven of its wagons went off the tracks, with two of them overturning.

The Health Ministry released a separate statement detailing the casualty count, adding that 30 ambulances were dispatched to transfer the injured to hospitals.

The railway authorities’ statement said an investigation was opened to determine the cause of the derailment.

Train derailments and crashes are common in Egypt, where an aging railway system has also been plagued by mismanagement. Last October, a locomotive crashed into the tail of a Cairo-bound passenger train in southern Egypt, killing at least one person and injuring multiple others.

In recent years, the government announced initiatives to improve its railways. President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi said in 2018 some 250 billion Egyptian pounds, or $8.13 billion, would be needed to properly overhaul the country’s neglected rail network.