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statement.
The train carrying new recruits was travelling from upper Egypt to their military camp in Cairo and the two carriages of the train derailed in Giza’s Badrasheen district, south of Cairo, said the statement.
Around 66 ambulances rushed to the scene of the accident to move the injured to the nearby hospital, said Ahmed Omar spokesman for Egypt’s Health Ministry.
General anger overwhelmed Badrasheen, as residents said they repeatedly warned of the too old trains and fragile railway with low-level maintenance, stressing Badrasheen lacked a lot of services.
“The last two carriages left the train to hit another train, and the Badrasheen hospital is not well-equipped enough to receive the seriously injured cases. Badrasheen really lacks a lot of service,” Emad, a 25-year-old carpenter from Badrasheen, complained.
The injured people were moved to the nearby Badrasheen Central Hospital and Hawadiya Hospital. Meantime, the critical cases were moved to Maadi Military Hospital and Qasr al-Aini Hospital.
Dr. Omar Tawfik Hussein, manager of Badrasheen Central Hospital, told Xinhua that the hospital received 27 cases, four of them were dead and 23 were injured.
“We dealt with all the cases and did what was necessary. Some cases that needed specialised surgeries were transferred to Nasser Hospital and Maadi Military Hospital. The rest are here and some of them improved and were discharged,” he said.
Atiya, a 20-year-old injured soldier from Sohag governorate, told Xinhua that he had to jump out of the train when he felt the carriage was shaking so hard.
“I felt I was going to die anyway. So I jumped out of the train and hurt my leg,” Atiya said.
Meanwhile, Egypt’s Prosecutor General, Talat Ibrahim Abdullah ordered an urgent investigation into the accident, asserting that those responsible will be held accountable.
Prime Minister Hesham Qandil has also cancelled his visit to Cairo’s Maasarah district so as to follow up the latest developments of the accident.
For his part, Interior Minister Mohamed Ibrahim went to the site of the accident and ordered policemen to spare no efforts to rescue the injured.
The nearby citizens brought food and blankets for the survivors, who spent their night in the mosques, the state-run Ahram online reported.
The general prosecutor for South Giza, Ahmed Al-Bahrawi, has ordered to form a technical committee to check the carriages to find out the reasons behind the accident.
Minister of Insurance and Social Affairs Nagwa Khalil said that the government decided to compensate the families of each dead person with about 1 524 US dollars and 304 dollars for the injured.
Qandil decided to immediately disburse the families of the dead person with 4 573 US dollars, in addition to compensation by the armed forces.
Khalil added that the ministry will also provide social insurance pensions and urgent allowances to help the families of the victims, MENA reported.
During his visit to check the status of the injured at Maadi Military Hospital, Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi said, “the general prosecution is investigating the accident, and those responsible will be punished, no matter what their posts, the law will be applied.”
He offered condolences for the families of the dead persons who were on their road to perform their duties and serving the nation, saying “the accident is a catastrophe for all Egyptians.” He asserted the financial aid which has been decided by the government is just a speed procedure to express solidarity with their families and not a compensation for their beloved sons.
The country is completely ready to cure all injured in the biggest hospitals in and outside Egypt when required, he noted.
Morsi is expected to hold a meeting with Qandil and the minister for transportation to discuss means for overcoming the railways crisis.
The other trains, which were halted by the accident, will be resumed after removing the rubbles of the derailed carriages.
Last November, a train collided with a school bus in southern Egypt leaving dozens of children killed. Shortly after the tragedy, Egyptian transportation minister resigned. — Xinhua.
Online Reporter