El Ayyat train collision | |
---|---|
Details | |
Date | 24 October 2009 |
Location | El Ayyat, Giza |
Coordinates | 29°37′00″N 31°15′00″E / 29.6167°N 31.25°E |
Country | Egypt |
Incident type | train collision |
Cause | Suspected train stoppage due to animals on track |
Statistics | |
Trains | 2 |
Passengers | 0 |
Deaths | at least 50 [1] |
Injured | at least 30 [1] |
Damage | several carriages destroyed |
The El Ayyat train collision killed at least 50 people and injured 30 others on 24 October 2009. [1] The incident occurred in El Ayyat, 6th of October Governorate, located 50 km south of Cairo. [2] [3] [4] The official death toll has increased and might increase further. [5] [6] [7] One of the trains was going southward to visit the Asyut and Aswan, popular tourist destinations. [8]
A second train slammed into the first, which had stopped to allow an animal, described by various witnesses and officials as either a cow or a water buffalo, to make its way safely across. [1] [9] [10] [11] The second train was first class and had many passengers aboard; [8] the first one was traveling light. [8] It was thought that two carriages were wrecked completely. [12]
Reports described passengers jumping out of the train, but one carriage fell on another and the two had to be separated by a crane. [5] Attempts to find survivors in the two carriages were eventually halted when rescuers concluded there were no further survivors in or under either car. [13] Carriages were cut to reach the passengers. [14] Casualties were hospitalised. [13] Searches continued throughout the night after the crash. [6]
Egyptian railway authorities immediately announced an investigation into the crash. [8] The Egyptian government was criticised for its reaction by some of the surviving passengers. [15] Dubai's daily newspaper Gulf News and Israeli publication The Jerusalem Post both suggested officials on-scene had been forbidden from speaking to the media about the incident. [16] [17] The crash was first reported on Twitter, with news networks initially reluctant to provide coverage. [15]
El Ayyat train collision | |
---|---|
Details | |
Date | 24 October 2009 |
Location | El Ayyat, Giza |
Coordinates | 29°37′00″N 31°15′00″E / 29.6167°N 31.25°E |
Country | Egypt |
Incident type | train collision |
Cause | Suspected train stoppage due to animals on track |
Statistics | |
Trains | 2 |
Passengers | 0 |
Deaths | at least 50 [1] |
Injured | at least 30 [1] |
Damage | several carriages destroyed |
The El Ayyat train collision killed at least 50 people and injured 30 others on 24 October 2009. [1] The incident occurred in El Ayyat, 6th of October Governorate, located 50 km south of Cairo. [2] [3] [4] The official death toll has increased and might increase further. [5] [6] [7] One of the trains was going southward to visit the Asyut and Aswan, popular tourist destinations. [8]
A second train slammed into the first, which had stopped to allow an animal, described by various witnesses and officials as either a cow or a water buffalo, to make its way safely across. [1] [9] [10] [11] The second train was first class and had many passengers aboard; [8] the first one was traveling light. [8] It was thought that two carriages were wrecked completely. [12]
Reports described passengers jumping out of the train, but one carriage fell on another and the two had to be separated by a crane. [5] Attempts to find survivors in the two carriages were eventually halted when rescuers concluded there were no further survivors in or under either car. [13] Carriages were cut to reach the passengers. [14] Casualties were hospitalised. [13] Searches continued throughout the night after the crash. [6]
Egyptian railway authorities immediately announced an investigation into the crash. [8] The Egyptian government was criticised for its reaction by some of the surviving passengers. [15] Dubai's daily newspaper Gulf News and Israeli publication The Jerusalem Post both suggested officials on-scene had been forbidden from speaking to the media about the incident. [16] [17] The crash was first reported on Twitter, with news networks initially reluctant to provide coverage. [15]