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At Least 25 Killed as Fire Sweeps Through Cairo Train Station At Least 25 Killed as Fire Sweeps Through Cairo Train Station
(about 1 hour later)
CAIRO — A fire ripped through Cairo’s main train station after a train rammed a barrier on Wednesday, killing at least 25 people and injuring dozens of others, medics and Egyptian state media said. CAIRO — A fire ripped through Cairo’s main railway station after a speeding train crashed into a crowded platform on Wednesday, killing at least 25 people and injuring dozens of others, medics and Egyptian state media said.
Initial reports said that the train had torn through the barrier at the Ramses train station in the Egyptian capital. Surveillance footage circulating on social media showed a train hurtling into the Ramses station, ramming a barrier and setting off an explosion that engulfed the station in flames and smoke.
Photos of charred bodies, some strewn on the tracks, circulated on social media. Clouds of smoke billowed across the city center. Nearby buildings were scorched by the fire. Footage from another angle showed a wall of fire sweeping through the busy station, causing passengers to flee. A man covered in flames tumbles down steps as he runs frantically for help. Other passengers douse him with water in an attempt to extinguish the blaze.
The footage could not be independently confirmed, but a kiosk owner on an adjacent platform said it was consistent with what he had witnessed in the aftermath of the crash. The train hit a small building and a platform where passengers were waiting, he said.
One woman begged him to kill her, the man added, because her entire body was burned.
Another eyewitness said that the fire, which consumed nearby buildings and sent clouds of black smoke billowing across central Cairo, lasted about an hour. Later, photos of charred bodies, some strewn on the tracks, circulated on social media.
Both men declined to give their names, citing the heavy police presence in the station.
State media reported that in addition to the 25 people killed, 50 others were injured.State media reported that in addition to the 25 people killed, 50 others were injured.
“I was standing on the platform and I saw the train speed into the barrier,” Mina Ghaly told Reuters. “Everyone started running, but a lot of people died after the locomotive exploded.” The cause of the crash was not immediately clear. Images from the station showed firefighters spraying water on a charred, steaming carriage that had came to rest with one end propped on the raised passenger platform. Some reports said that the train’s fuel tank had exploded in the crash.
The cause of the train crash was not immediately clear. Images from the station showed firefighters spraying water on a charred, steaming carriage that had came to rest with one end propped up on the raised passenger platform. Some reports said that the train’s fuel tank had exploded as it barreled into the station, igniting the fire. Egypt’s prosecutor general, Nabil Sadek, ordered an investigation. Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, visited the station and promised a tough response.
Egypt’s prosecutor general, Nabil Sadek, ordered an investigation. “Any person found to be negligent will be held accountable, and it will be severe,” he said, according to Agence France-Presse.
The crash and resulting blaze were the latest of several disasters to hit Egypt’s dilapidated and accident-prone train network. It is likely to elicit new scrutiny of the priorities of President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, whose parliamentary supporters have begun campaigning to extend his rule until at least 2034. The crash and resulting blaze were the latest of several disasters for Egypt’s dilapidated and accident-prone train network. It is likely to elicit new scrutiny of the priorities of President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, whose parliamentary supporters have begun campaigning to extend his rule until at least 2034.
In August 2017, at least 41 people were killed and over 179 injured in the collision of two trains near the port city of Alexandria. In August 2017, at least 41 people were killed and nearly 180 injured in the collision of two trains near the port city of Alexandria.
In 2012, a train slammed into a school bus at a crossing 190 miles south of Cairo, killing at least 50 people, most of them children. The authorities blamed a signal operator who fell asleep at his post.In 2012, a train slammed into a school bus at a crossing 190 miles south of Cairo, killing at least 50 people, most of them children. The authorities blamed a signal operator who fell asleep at his post.
The government statistics agency reported 10,965 railroad accidents in the decade between 2008 and 2017. The trend is upward: the worst year in recent decades was 2017, with 1793 accidents. The government statistics agency reported 10,965 railroad accidents between 2008 and 2017. The trend is upward: The worst year in recent decades was 2017, with 1,793 accidents.
The abundance of accidents stands in stark contrast to the efficient, modernizing image of Egypt projected by Mr. el-Sisi, whose military is building a sprawling, Dubai-style administrative capital in the desert east of Cairo.The abundance of accidents stands in stark contrast to the efficient, modernizing image of Egypt projected by Mr. el-Sisi, whose military is building a sprawling, Dubai-style administrative capital in the desert east of Cairo.
This weekend, Mr. el-Sisi basked in the limelight as he welcomed European leaders to the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh for the inaugural summit meeting of the European Union and the Arab League. But he bridled at criticisms of his country’s dire human rights record. This past weekend, Mr. el-Sisi basked in the limelight as he welcomed European leaders to the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh for the inaugural summit meeting of the European Union and the Arab League. But he bridled at criticisms of his country’s dire human rights record.
By early Wednesday afternoon, Ramses station had reopened and train service had resumed on platforms not affected by the fire. The government announced that it would pay about $4,500 each to the families of those killed, and about $1,125 to each of the injured.