Egypt Reports Two Train Accidents within 24 hours

Sohag train accident last March (AFP)
Sohag train accident last March (AFP)
TT

Egypt Reports Two Train Accidents within 24 hours

Sohag train accident last March (AFP)
Sohag train accident last March (AFP)

Dozens were injured in a train crash in Alexandria, less than 24 hours after another train accident killed two and injured six Egyptians in Cairo.

The Egyptian prosecution is investigating the circumstances of the two accidents.

The Railways Authority said in a statement that the Alexandria-Cairo train crashed with a moving tractor number 3219 while it was leaving platform 8 at the Alexandria Station.

The train driver and his assistant were apprehended and transferred to public prosecution.

The ministry of health said that 40 persons were injured in the accident.

The Authority also announced on Monday that a train in a Cairo suburb collided with two buses parked dangerously close to the train tracks. The driver was unable to stop the train, which led to a collision with one of the buses, killing two and injuring six others.

During April and March, Egypt witnessed several train accidents that killed and injured several persons. The Cairo-Mansoura train accident resulted in 23 deaths and 139 injuries, and in Minya al-Qamh a train derailed killing 14 people.

In April, Two trains collided in Sohag in Upper Egypt, killing 20 people and injuring about two hundred others. The Public Prosecution charged railway employees and drivers with "negligence and drug abuse", as part of efforts to uncover the circumstances of the accident.

The Public Prosecutor, Counselor Hamada El-Sawi, ordered an urgent investigation into the incident of a train collision with two buses in Helwan.

Meanwhile, Head of Parliament's Transport Committee MP Alaa Abed said that the committee is following up with the Ministry of Transportation to uncover the details of the accidents.

The Chairman added that the committee is awaiting technical reports to identify the causes of the two accidents, noting that it will hold an urgent meeting to discuss the incidents while taking the necessary measures.

He asserted that if the investigations of the public prosecution proved that the collisions were caused by human error, the committee will demand severe punishments.

Abed praised the state agencies that helped in solving most of the problems in record time and the speedy response in transporting the injured to hospitals.

He also lauded the security officials and local development agencies for removing the rubble in record time.



Berri to Asharq Al-Awsat: Lebanon's Presidential Election is My Priority After Ceasefire

Lebanon's Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri (R) meets with French President's Special Envoy to Lebanon Jean-Yves Le Drian (L), in Beirut, Lebanon, 28 November 2024. EPA/WAEL HAMZEH
Lebanon's Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri (R) meets with French President's Special Envoy to Lebanon Jean-Yves Le Drian (L), in Beirut, Lebanon, 28 November 2024. EPA/WAEL HAMZEH
TT

Berri to Asharq Al-Awsat: Lebanon's Presidential Election is My Priority After Ceasefire

Lebanon's Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri (R) meets with French President's Special Envoy to Lebanon Jean-Yves Le Drian (L), in Beirut, Lebanon, 28 November 2024. EPA/WAEL HAMZEH
Lebanon's Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri (R) meets with French President's Special Envoy to Lebanon Jean-Yves Le Drian (L), in Beirut, Lebanon, 28 November 2024. EPA/WAEL HAMZEH

Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri has set the presidential election session for January 9, 2024, calling it a “productive” meeting and announcing that accredited ambassadors in Lebanon will be invited.

Berri told Asharq Al-Awsat that his priority after the ceasefire with Israel is the presidential election, which he called a “national necessity.”

The announcement came as French envoy Jean-Yves Le Drian arrived in Beirut for talks with Lebanese leaders about restarting stalled political efforts due to the war between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah.

Both Berri and Prime Minister Najib Mikati received a call from French President Emmanuel Macron late Wednesday.

Macron discussed with Mikati the current situation in Lebanon following the ceasefire, as well as the implementation of decisions made at the recent Lebanon Support Conference in Paris.

In his call with Berri, Macron addressed the general situation, recent steps taken by Lebanon regarding the ceasefire and Israeli provocations, and preparations for the presidential election.

This renewed presidential push comes after more than two years of a vacant presidency, with Lebanese political parties still divided over a consensus candidate.