Train collision in Egypt's Giza leaves 4 dead, at least 120 injured

A severe train collision occurred on Sunday in the Al-Ayyat area of Giza province, south of Cairo, leaving at least 120 people injured and derailing multiple carriages, according to state newspaper Al-Akhbar Al-Youm, as quoted by news agency AFP. Egypt's railway authority reported that a northbound passenger train travelling from Giza to Fayoum struck the rear of another service heading south from Cairo to Aswan. Railway teams deployed cranes to clear the wreckage from the tracks.

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The Egyptian Ministry of Health dispatched 52 ambulances to the crash site to transport the injured to two regional hospitals. Authorities have opened an investigation to determine the cause of the incident.

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The location of the crash, Al-Ayyat, has previously been the site of major rail catastrophes. In 2002, a fire aboard an overcrowded train travelling south from Cairo killed more than 370 people, marking the country's worst railway disaster. Additional fatal collisions occurred in the same area in 2009, resulting in dozens of casualties.

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Egypt relies heavily on its vast rail system to move its population of 110 million people. Despite being one of the largest rail networks in Africa, it has historically been plagued by poor maintenance and recurring fatal accidents. Over the past decade, the Egyptian government has invested billions of dollars into upgrading national transport infrastructure, including constructing new modern highways and high-speed rail corridors. However, significant portions of the country's legacy rail network remain aged and in need of modern overhauls.