CAIRO, Nov. 8 (Xinhua) -- At least four were killed and 88 injured Sunday when two trains collided in Egypt's Giza governorate, causing several passenger train carriages to derail in the Al-Ayyat district, Egypt's Ministry of Health and Population said.
The ministry said in a statement that 72 ambulances took part in rescue and evacuation operations, with the injured transferred to multiple hospitals in Giza and nearby Beni Suef governorate.
Four fatalities were recorded, three at hospitals and one at the scene of the accident, it added.
Health Minister Khaled Abdel Ghaffar ordered health facilities in both governorates to raise readiness and provide all necessary medical and emergency support to the injured, according to the statement.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi said on the social media platform Facebook that he was closely following developments, extended his condolences to the families of those killed and wished the injured a speedy recovery.
Sisi said he had directed state agencies to provide medical care, swiftly investigate the accident, and hold anyone found responsible for negligence accountable.
The Egyptian National Railways Authority said in an earlier statement that the accident occurred between Kafr Ammar and Al-Raqqa stations when a train on the Giza-Fayoum route hit the rear of another on the Cairo-Aswan route.
Emergency teams and cranes were dispatched to clear the site and move the remaining carriages to restore services in both directions as quickly as possible, the authority said.
Egypt's railway network has long faced problems of outdated equipment and poor management, leading to frequent accidents. The country's deadliest rail disaster occurred in 2002, when a fire on a Cairo-Luxor train in Giza's Ayyat district killed over 380 people. ■
