Egyptian train driver, dispatcher detained over train derailment

Egypt’s general prosecution ordered a train driver and railway dispatcher be detained for four days on charges of accidently causing injury to 70 people and wasting public funds, after a train derailed in northern Egypt on Thursday.

The Cairo-bound train derailed and overturned early on Thursday in the governorate of Beni Suef, leaving at least 70 people injured. There were no reported deaths in the incident.

The train, which departed from the southern governorate of Aswan, collided with a cement barrier at a rail intersection after the train’s brakes failed to respond.

The impact with the barrier caused the train to go off the rails and partially turn over, a security official told state news agency MENA.

The social solidarity ministry ordered compensation of EGP 100 (around $12) be paid to each victim, MENA reported.

The two men will be detained for four days pending investigations into the charges.

Egypt’s railways are notorious for poor infrastructure and maintenance.

The country’s official statistics agency said in December that over 2,800 people were killed in road and train crashes in Egypt in the first half of 2015.

source: Ahram Online