Egypt's health ministry says that two people have died and sixteen others were injured in a train accident on Tuesday in Cairo.
A statement from the ministry of health noted that two people were dead and the injured were in stable condition at the hospital, while six people have already been released.
The accident happened in Qalyub, in the Nile Delta, just north of Cairo. According to Egypt's national rail authority, the incident occurred when a passenger train approaching Qalyub station ran through a stop signal." That led to the derailment of the locomotive and the first carriage," the authority said in a statement.
Images from the scene showed first responders converging on rail cars that appeared to be upright, hidden behind a high wall in a densely populated area.to keep crowds at bay who were hanging on nearby walls, the Police formed a perimeter. Later, a crane was called in to help lift a derailed car that appeared to be partly crumpled.
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Most Egyptian rail accidents have been attributed to poor infrastructure and lack of maintenance. Egypt's roads are also a frequent site of fatal accidents. Roads are frequently neglected, and traffic laws need to be fixed.
This accident comes barely a week after another train accident in Greece left over 50 people dead. The accident happened when two trains collided on the tracks. A passenger train carrying 350 people collided with a goods train shortly before midnight on Tuesday, causing the front carriages to catch fire.
Rail workers held a 24-hour strike accusing the government of neglecting and lacking investment in the railway system. Residents also took to the streets to complain about the country's railway system, saying that the accident was bound to happen.
"We are angry at the company, at the government and past governments that did nothing to improve conditions in the Greek railway," said pensioner Stavros Nantis in Athens.
