Seven killed, 125 injured as two trains collide near Cairo

Seven people were killed and 125 injured when two passenger trains collided at Al-Ayyat in Giza governorate, south of Cairo, on Sunday, Egypt's health ministry confirmed.

Train number 134, a Tahya Misr service running from Giza to Fayoum, struck the rear of train number 2010, travelling from Cairo to Aswan, between the Kafr Ammar and El Reqqa stations. Several carriages left the tracks. The Egyptian National Railways gave no cause.

Health Minister Khaled Abdel Ghaffar said 72 ambulances carried out the evacuation. Hospitals received 132 cases in total. Al-Wasta Central Hospital took 87, including three of the dead. Al-Ayyat Central Hospital received 34, and Atfih Central Hospital received 11, including four of the dead. The bodies were placed at the disposal of the public prosecution. By late Sunday, 71 people had been discharged; 11 were transferred to Beni Suef University Hospital and Beni Suef Specialised Hospital, and 43 remained under observation — 23 in Al-Ayyat, 13 in Al-Wasta and seven in Atfih.

Most injuries were bruises and abrasions, though others involved fractures to the limbs, pelvis and spine, as well as head, facial, chest and rib injuries. Deputy health minister Amr Kandil visited the injured.

Islam Azzam, chairman of the Financial Regulatory Authority, ordered the insurance pool covering railway and metro accidents to expedite payments. He raised the death and total permanent disability compensation from EGP 30,000 to EGP 50,000 as an exception, with other injury claims to follow once medical reports are submitted.

Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly offered condolences and directed officials to provide full support to victims' families. The railway authority dispatched emergency teams and cranes to clear wreckage and restore services on the Cairo–High Dam line.

Al-Ayyat was also the site of Egypt's deadliest rail disaster: in February 2002, fire swept through an overcrowded train on the same route, killing more than 360 passengers. Rear-end collisions have recurred elsewhere; in March 2021, a passenger train struck the back of another near Sohag, killing 18 people and injuring 200. Prosecutors later ordered the arrest of eight railway employees.