It has been confirmed by Egyptian security and medics that an incandescent train crash that occurred on Wednesday has killed over 20 people at Cairo’s main railway station.
An Egyptian medical official says the death toll from a train fire in Cairo’s central railway station has risen to 25.
Mohammed Said, the head of the Cairo Railroad hospital, says the death toll is expected to rise further following the blaze. He added that the accident, which sparked a major blaze at the Ramses station, also injured 47 others.
Railway authorities say a railcar rammed into a barrier inside the station causing an explosion of the fuel tank and triggering a huge blaze that engulfed that part of the station.
Egyptian state TV confirmed the figures.
Photos showed a thick cloud of black smoke billowing around the station. Firefighters were seen hosing down the charred wreckage of the train.
Footage also showed fire engulfing the train and a nearby platform and people rushing to help the casualties.
Ambulances and rescue teams were dispatched to the site, medical sources said.
“Any person found to be negligent will be held accountable and it will be severe,” Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouli said as he arrived at the site.
Egyptians have complained for a long time that the government has failed to deal with chronic transport problems in the country, where roads are as poorly maintained as railway lines.
The official statistics agency says there were 1,793 train accidents in 2017.